WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) issued the following statement on today’s confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee for Pete Hegseth, whom President-Elect Trump has announced he will nominate to serve as U.S. Secretary of Defense:

“I’ve known Pete Hegseth for more than ten years, and he’s been a leader in fighting for his fellow veterans here in the halls of Congress. He would reprioritize the Pentagon not on social engineering or woke policies, but rather on war fighting, lethality, and deterrence. The ultimate goal of the Department of Defense is to prevent wars, and the only way you do that is by peace through strength.”

“I will support Pete Hegseth. This is a hard process on him and his family, and some of it will be enormously unfair, but I respect his willingness to serve the nation and the military that he has devoted a large percentage of his life to.”

“The Pentagon needs shaking up from the dangerous status quo, and I’m confident Pete will do just that.”