GOP Senator Uses Misspelled Sign to Rail Against Military’s Alleged Incompetence During Senate Hearing

C-SPAN

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) slammed diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the U.S. military – all while using a placard that misspelled “military.”

On Tuesday, the Senate Armed Services Committee convened for the confirmation hearing of Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News host that President-elect Donald Trump tapped to be Secretary of Defense. Hegseth, a U.S. Army veteran, has been a lightning rod of controversy. An unidentified woman claimed that Hegseth raped her in a hotel room in Monterey, California in 2017. Police investigated the matter, but declined to bring charges. Hegseth vehemently denies the allegation, but acknowledges paying the woman.

The former Fox host has also been accused of smelling of alcohol while on the job, which Hegseth also denies.

One issue front and center at his confirmation hearing has been the aforementioned DEI, which Hegseth has promised to expunge at the Department of Defense. Republicans say that casting a wider net to ensure a more diverse workforce has led to unreadiness in the military, which they claim is run by “woke” generals.

During the hearing, Schmitt thanked Hegseth for his service before launching into a diatribe against DEI and the incompetence it has allegedly wrought.

“I also want to thank you for your clarity in articulating the vision you have for the Department of Defense and restoring an ethos, a warrior ethos, which is in stark contrast to the ethos we’ve seen in the last four years, which is of weakness and wokeness,” the senator said. “DEI, there’s been a little bit of discussion about this. But for those watching at home, DEI is not about giving everybody opportunity. It is rooted in cultural Marxism. The idea that you pit the room, any room with oppressor versus oppressed, it’s race essentialism, and it is poison.”

As Schmitt proceeded through his jeremiad about the state of the military – which included a misleading claim about the use of the terms “mom” and “dad” being frowned upon in the Air Force – a staffer cycled through placards on an easel meant to buttress the senator’s commentary.

At one point, the staffer revealed a sign reading, “DEI in our Miltary.”

Hegseth responded by saying that if confirmed, he will “send a clear message that this not a time for equity.”