Ed Markey: “we are about to have a monumental vote out here on the floor of the U.S. Senate on who will become the next Secretary of…”

“we are about to have a monumental vote out here on the floor of the U.S. Senate on who will become the next Secretary of Defense for the United States of America. The defense budget in the United States is $900 billion. The person who is given that responsibility has to be exceptionally well qualified in order to deal with all of the responsibilities that are tied to those military and personnel decisions which have to be made because there are 3.5 million servicemembers, and there are hundreds of thousands of aircraft, ships, submarines, combat vehicles, satellites, and the nuclear arsenal. And a variety of sources, including his own writings, implicate him with disregarding the laws of war, of financial mismanagement, of racist and sexist remarks about Americans in uniform, of sexual assault, of sexual harassment, and other very troubling issues. These are perilous times, and the position of Secretary of Defense demands a leader of unparalleled experience, wisdom, and, above all else, character. The Secretary of Defense carries an immense responsibility not only to the American people but to the servicemembers whom they lead. If confirmed, Mr. Hegseth will have a responsibility to serve our servicemembers in a manner that is fair and nonpartisan and responsible. Yet Mr. Hegseth has demonstrated that he is incapable of doing so. He has said: I am straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles.…”