Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told Newsmax on Tuesday that from what he saw at Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing earlier in the day, it appears the military veteran is “on target” to be confirmed as the next secretary of Defense.
“I think he did a good job,” Rounds told “The Record With Greta Van Susteren” about how Hegseth fared. “I think he was prepared. There were no surprises today in terms of the attacks from our Democrat colleagues, and I think most of the Republicans pretty much stuck to the technical details about what a secretary of the Department of Defense would want to have for background information.
“There really just was simply a matter of going through this open hearing and allowing Mr. Hegseth the opportunity to showcase the fact that he was a boots-on-the-ground guy, that he understood from the point of view of many of our veterans, that he understood what they had been through,” he continued. “He’s been in combat himself. He’s had people die around him. He’s helped wounded individuals. So, he understands that, and we haven’t had someone in that capacity come in and actually work as the head of that department in a long, long time.”
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