Not long after Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth read his opening statement and began answering questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee, I started thinking: I hope neither America’s allies nor its enemies are watching this. The hope was of course completely unfounded. Such hearings are closely watched by friends and foes alike to get an idea of ​​a candidate who could potentially lead the world’s most powerful military and be a close adviser to the president of the United States.

What America and the world saw today was not a serious test of a serious man. Instead, Republicans on the committee demonstrated that they would rather promote an unqualified and unsuitable candidate to a position of enormous responsibility than anger Donald Trump, Elon Musk or the most ardent Republican voters in their home states. America’s allies should be deeply concerned; America’s enemies, on the other hand, are most likely laughing in amazement at their unexpected good fortune.

Most Republican senators asked questions that had little to do with defending the United States and everything to do with the strange obsessions that dominate the alternative reality of right-wing television and talk radio, particularly the curse of “wokeness.” Maybe that was a good thing for Hegseth, because the few moments in which something substantial came up didn’t go well for him. For example, when Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska tried early on to lure Hegseth out with some basic questions about nuclear weapons, he failed. He tried to find an answer, which was to use Silicon Valley’s creativity to develop a future nuclear power… or something.

On many other issues, including compliance with the Geneva Conventions, the military’s role in domestic policing, and the obligation to disobey illegal orders, Hegseth fumbled and improvised. He seemed aware that he had to avoid sounding extreme while still playing to the only audience that really matters: 50 Republican senators and a former and future president of the United States. His excuses weren’t particularly clever, but they didn’t have to be. He was clear that his two priorities as secretary would be waging a culture war at the Pentagon and doing whatever Trump tells him.

When America’s friends and opponents saw an insubstantial man before the committee, they also saw Republicans – members of what once called themselves the party of national security – acting without any seriousness or purpose. Aside from Fischer and the more matter-of-fact Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, few Republicans asked Hegseth a meaningful question about policy. Ernst extracted a promise from Hegseth to appoint a high-ranking official in charge of sexual assault prevention, but most of her colleagues resorted to the usual buzzwords about DEI and cultural Marxism while throwing Hegseth’s softballs. (Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri also managed to mention drag queens, but the trophy for scariest moment goes to Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana, who asked Hegseth how many genders there are. When Hegseth said “two,” Sheehy said : “I know I’m a woman. Sheehy? He’s here all week, guys.

Speaking of buzzwords, most of Hegseth’s answers relied on his promise to support “the warfighters” and their “lethality,” two words that have been circulating around the Pentagon for years – as things full of helium will. To his credit, Hegseth has learned to speak fluent Pentagonese, the content-free language in which those involved help warfighters harness their powers to increase their lethality. (I taught military officers for years at the Naval War College. I can write that kind of Newspeak any way I want.) As Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut noted, Hegseth may not be qualified to be defense secretary, but he could make it as defense secretary at the Pentagon- Speaker.

Some Democrats emphasized that Hegseth had never led a company of any significant size and that his record, even in smaller organizations, was not particularly impressive. Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan pointed out that no board would hire Hegseth as CEO, even for a mid-sized company. Other Democrats sharply criticized Hegseth’s personal behavior, including allegations (which he has denied) that he was involved in sexual assault and alcohol abuse. At one point, Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona listed specific incidents and asked Hegseth to confirm or deny them. Each time, Hegseth responded only with “anonymous slanders,” which he said amounted to an invocation of the Fifth Amendment. Hegseth also said he was not perfect and was saved by his faith in Jesus Christ, whose name came up more often than one would expect at a hearing on national security.

Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, an Army veteran who was wounded while serving in Iraq, released a large poster of the Soldier’s Creed, emphasizing its insistence on standards and integrity. She asked Hegseth how the Defense Department could still require service members to train and serve to such high standards when the Senate would lower the bar for running the Pentagon just for him. After questioning him on various topics and Hegseth faltered again, she got straight to the point: “You are not qualified, Mr. Hegseth.”

None of this mattered to the Republicans on the committee, as some of them were very offended by questions about Hegseth’s character. Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma tried to turn the tables by asking how many of them had ever voted drunk or cheated on their spouses, as if that would somehow avoid any further furor over whether a potential defense secretary was an adulterer or fighting back Substance abuse.

Unfortunately for Mullin, he doesn’t know his Senate history, so Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the ranking member, helpfully explained it to him: If any member of the Senate were nominated for such a position, Reed said, they would also have to answer such questions. And then he added that the late Senator John Tower was turned down for the same job Hegseth wanted in 1989 – because of allegations of a drinking problem.

Meanwhile, I tried to imagine the reaction in Moscow or Beijing, where senior Defense Department officials almost certainly watched as Hegseth stumbled through this hearing. They learned today that their new opponent appears to give little thought to foreign enemies, but worries a lot about the people Trump calls the “enemy within.” The MAGA Republicans, for their part, seem just anxious for Hegseth to get in there and tear up the Pentagon.

After today, I suspect America’s enemies are eagerly awaiting the same.

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