US Senator and army veteran Tammy Duckworth has criticised Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump's nominee for defence secretary, for his views on women serving in combat roles.
Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois and a combat veteran who lost both legs in a helicopter crash in Iraq, appeared on CBS News's Face the Nation on Sunday. She argued that Hegseth, an army veteran and former Fox News host, was unqualified for the position due to his stance on women in the military.
"Mr Hegseth is not qualified for the position because he doesn’t understand, apparently, even after having served, that women are vitally important to an effective military," Duckworth said.
She stressed the crucial role of women in the military, especially amid current recruitment challenges.
"With the recruiting challenges we’re having right now, if we were to pull all those women out and say you can’t go into combat, we would face a severe personnel crisis in the military," she added.
Duckworth also criticised Hegseth's lower rank during his service, saying, "He was a pretty low-ranking guy in the military, and he never had a command position... He was a platoon leader, I think, once or twice, but he never even commanded a company. This is a man who is inordinately unqualified for the position."
Duckworth retired as a lieutenant colonel after becoming one of the first women to fly combat missions during the Iraq War. On the hand, Hegseth retired as a major.
Hegseth previously said on a podcast that women in combat roles do not benefit the military, claiming, "Everything about men and women serving together makes the situation more complicated, and complication in combat means casualties are worse. I’m straight up just saying that we should not have women in combat roles — it hasn’t made us more effective, hasn’t made us more lethal, and has made fighting more complicated."
Hegseth has faced controversies, including a past sexual assault allegation, which he settled in a civil case while denying any wrongdoing, and claims of a supremacist tattoo on his bicep.