Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Sick.) criticized President-elect Trump’s nomination of Fox Information host Pete Hegseth as Protection secretary, after he known as for ladies to not serve in fight roles.
“Where do you think I lost my legs?” Duckworth advised CNN’s Kaitlan Collins in an interview Wednesday.
Duckworth, an Iraq conflict veteran and Purple Coronary heart recipient, was amongst a few of the first ladies to fly fight missions as a U.S. Military helicopter pilot. Her helicopter was hit by a grenade in 2004 and he or she misplaced each legs and a few mobility in her proper arm.
Hegseth, who Trump tapped Tuesday to guide his Division of Protection, can be an Military veteran that served in Afghanistan and Iraq, and now serves as co-host of Fox Information’s “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
He has known as for the firing of different generals concerned in range, fairness and inclusion efforts and stated ladies shouldn’t serve in fight roles.
“Look, he’s not qualified to serve as Secretary of Defense, and obviously, he’s made these comments about how he doesn’t think women should be in combat and that he wants to be able to fire the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” Duckworth stated in Wednesday’s interview highlighted by Mediaite. “I ask him, how does that strengthen our nation’s military?”
“We can’t go to war today without our women military members,” she stated, noting there are greater than 225,000 active-duty ladies serving within the navy proper now.
Trump is forging forward along with his dramatic shake-up of the navy, whilst considerations develop over what Hegseth will deliver to the administration. His proposals for the Pentagon embrace guarantees to slash spending, skinny high ranks and roll again efforts to make the navy extra inclusive to transgender and ladies troopers.
