| Jason - Donald Trump has made a series of terrible Cabinet picks. While I expect most to be confirmed, there's one nomination I'm going to fight as hard as I know how: Pete Hegseth must never be the U.S. Secretary of Defense. There are a lot of reasons why — chief among them that he's uniquely unqualified for the role beyond having been "seen by Trump on Fox News." But I can't stop thinking about what this pick means to the nearly 3 million people who serve in our military around the world. How do you ask them to report to that man when he falls so far short of the expectations we have in them? In the military, we live our values — basics like respect, honor, and character, principles that seem to fundamentally escape Hegseth. How can you ask them to respect the rule of law, when Hegseth has called for the pardoning of war criminals and the purge of military leaders who served under Democratic presidents? This is a man who wants to end women serving in combat, something that thousands of women have done, many with distinction and honor and at levels that Hegseth himself has not reached. I served for 24 years, including three tours in combat — how dare he suggest that women cannot do jobs we've already done? How can Hegseth lead the best and the most diverse military in the world when he has so little respect for those who do not look like him? This is a man who's had multiple public affairs and faces allegations of sexual assault, a man who wears a white supremacist tattoo on his body, a man who has likened his domestic political opponents to foreign enemies and called for the "utter annihilation" of the left. If someone with such serious character flaws is elevated to such a post, why would our men and women in uniform take our expectations of them seriously? So let's cut to the chase: Behind the scenes, enough U.S. senators feel the same way about this to reject Hegseth. But it'll be a fight to get some of them to stand up to Trump. We need to wage a battle over public opinion. We need a pressure campaign. And yes, we need veterans to speak out. I plan to do it every day until we defeat this nomination and keep MAGA yes-men from leading our military. If you're with me, will you chip in to help fund this fight as it takes shape? This is how fired-up I am. I published an op-ed last week in Newsweek, laying out the case against Hegseth — give it a read and please share it far and wide. Thank you, Amy
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