THURSDAY UPDATE: Readers may recall then-state Rep. Gabe Evans discussing the ins and outs of background checks based on his service overseeing subordinate National Guardsmen during legislative debate, a subject that has come up repeatedly with respect to President re-elect Donald Trump’s shady selections for key Cabinet posts. The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer reported Monday about the minimal background checking of Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth:
[A]s the Senate rushes ahead with the confirmation process, the F.B.I. report doesn’t appear likely to resolve much. According to multiple well-informed sources, the Bureau failed to interview several potentially crucial witnesses, including the woman who has accused Hegseth of rape. The F.B.I. also neglected to do a full background interview with the second of Hegseth’s three wives—from whom he reportedly went through a contentious divorce—after initially struggling to get in touch with her. The Bureau failed, too, to interview former employees of Concerned Veterans for America who were critical of Hegseth when he ran the organization, between 2013 and 2016. As The New Yorker reported in December, these former employees were so shocked by his behavior that they sent a blistering internal whistle-blower report to the nonprofit’s top management—a document that was subsequently shared with the Senate Armed Services Committee. Sources told The New Yorker that the F.B.I.’s background investigation also failed to interview Fox News personnel who had described Hegseth to NBC News as smelling of alcohol on the job as recently as last fall. Instead, sources say that the Bureau settled for an interview with a public-relations official at Fox…
Which might not matter anyway, since it appears that most of the U.S. Senators who will vote on Hegseth’s nomination will never see the FBI’s report:
The F.B.I.’s Hegseth report may be irrelevant, in any case, because it appears that most senators will never even get to see it. The newly installed Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Roger Wicker, of Mississippi, who was briefed on the F.B.I.’s investigation into Hegseth last Friday, plans not to share the Bureau’s findings with any senator other than the top-ranking Democrat on the committee, Jack Reed, of Rhode Island. A senior Republican staffer on the Armed Services Committee told me that the close hold on the F.B.I. findings was normal practice. But Democrats and some Republicans in the Senate are outraged by the decision. In a text, Blumenthal told me that the Trump team was trying to “conceal” and “whitewash” Hegseth’s past, adding, “Whatever they say is ‘normal’ (a disputed point), this nomination is not normal.”
All of which should be as concerning for Rep. Evans as it is for fellow veteran Rep. Jason Crow (below), but Evans is 100% on Team MAGA.
Now it’s a question of how that ages for one of 2026’s most vulnerable Congressmen.
—–
Ernest Luning of the Colorado Springs Gazette’s political blog connected with two members of Colorado’s congressional delegation who are also military veterans: Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Aurora, a decorated combat veteran, and newly-elected Republican Rep. Gabe Evans, who served as a National Guard helicopter pilot and was deployed overseas during Operation Enduring Freedom. Though neither of these House members will vote on the confirmation of Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, their opinions are as relevant to the debate over Hegseth’s controversial nomination as any member of Colorado’s delegation on account of their service.
And as Luning reports, the two veterans couldn’t be farther apart on whether Hegseth is fit to serve:
Crow, an Army Ranger combat veteran and attorney serving his fourth term in Congress, said Hegseth is “grossly unqualified” to run the Department of Defense, the largest federal agency, telling Colorado Politics that the nominee’s experience and character both come up short…
“The man remains grossly unqualified, both by experience but even more importantly by character to serve as the secretary of defense,” Crow said. “The military is an organization that puts emphasis on character, integrity and leadership. It’s not just the repeated accusations about alcohol abuse, abuse of women, running nonprofits into the ground and into debt, but his repeated assertions that women should not serve in the military and in combat roles are just automatically disqualifying.” [Pols emphasis]
Rep. Gabe Evans, who eked out a slim victory in last November’s “red wave” on a tight embrace of the MAGA brand including backing up Trump’s gross exaggerations about the city of Aurora on the campaign trail, appears to be willing to let Pete Hegseth’s mountain of disqualifying baggage slide and see Hegseth confirmed to run the Department of Defense based on his deep Fox and Friends credentials:
An Army combat veteran and retired police lieutenant elected in November, Evans expressed confidence in Hegseth’s “fresh ideas” and ability to make troop recruitment, retention and readiness the military’s top priorities…
“Operational readiness, recruiting and retention have sorely lagged under the Biden administration and need to be the absolute top priorities for the Department of Defense,” Evans said. “Between his own combat deployment and his fresh ideas, I trust Pete Hegseth will serve faithfully.”
Added Evans: “Currently Colorado’s National Guard is facing recruitment and retention problems, which directly threatens our readiness and national security. I welcome Hegseth’s plans to cut out DEI nonsense. Recruiting, retention, and readiness of our brave troops must be the priority.” [Pols emphasis]
Much like fellow freshman Rep. Jeff Crank’s praise for Hegseth’s leadership of an organization Hegseth left under a cloud of mismanagement allegations, there’s a huge gap between Evans’ expressed hopes that Hegseth will help with “recruiting and retention” and Hegseth’s actual record of managing organizations poorly and abusing people. We don’t expect to get good answers from Gabe Evans for the hard questions about Hegseth’s highly questionable nomination no matter which way it goes, but assuming Hegseth makes it through the Senate confirmation process as pundit chatter today after Hegseth’s “spirited,” “plucky,” “ballsy,” “gutsy,” “‘scrappy,” “spunky” (we admit to coming up with ‘spunky’ ourselves) first round of hearings suggests, it’s Hegseth’s performance as Secretary of Defense that Trump and every Republican who vouched for Hegseth’s fitness will answer for in the next election.
Only one of these men is right, and Evans has more to lose every time he’s wrong.
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Alva, there's a typo in the first paragraph: newly-election Republican Rep. Gabe Evans.
If it wasn't for you, these would end up in the permanent record like an email from Pete Hegseth's mother. Thanks.
😊
I don't know who will ACTUALLY be running the Defense Department, but I have yet to see anyone explain how Hegseth's priorities will actually improve recruitment, retention, or overall force readiness.
While the number of women in combat roles is not huge (Here's a Look at the Number of Women in Military Combat Roles), if Hegseth gets his way, he will be digging a hole in the already lack-luster recruitment to those units.
Military.com also observed "Additionally, the Pentagon could face enormous costs associated with retraining those women, further straining already tight defense budgets and potentially disrupting overall force readiness. Some of those women could be forced out of the military altogether, and it could also have a chilling effect, setting women back years in military hierarchies after rapidly expanding their footprint in recent years."
Pete Hegseth's tattoo is the Iron Cross, which is often associated with Hitler ( who earned that medal) and subsequently, with Nazi Germany. Hegseth's doesn't have the little swastika in the middle, but we get the general idea.
There are certainly enough reasons to despise Hegseth besides his tatts; however, it's unsettling that he chose to decorate himself like Hitler.
Modern day Christian nationalists have adopted this symbol.
Hegseth's well-publicized tattoo can be seen in an article offering an explanation of The Jerusalem Cross.
I had a metal Jerusalem Cross to hang around my neck in the 1970s — and it wasn't considered "Christian Nationalism" at that point. The linked article points out that a Jerusalem Cross was on the programs for The Celebration of and In Thanksgiving for the Life of James Earl Carter, Jr. I don't think it was a Christian Nationalist symbol there, either.
It's not what you think it represents John. It's what Harassing Hegseth thinks it means that is determitive whether he idolizes authoritarian figures or religious beliefs. Good luck getting him to elucidate his body adornments. .
OK, JiD, you were not a Christian Nationalist in the 1970s when you wore your Jerusalem Cross. Jimmy Carter wasn't, either.
However, there is a segment of society that does use this particular symbol in this particular way, and judging by Hegseth's public statements and the paper trail of his affiliations, he does use the symbol to indicate his loyalty to Christian Reconstructionist ideas about women's place and wiping out Islam.
Quoting the NPR article I linked to:
And the swastika is an ancient symbol of peace, but one can't really use it today without the nazi connotations. Same with the iron cross. Hegseth is a white nationalist, as far too many in the military are.
Rumor has it Trump will be sworn in with his hand on a copy of Mein Kampf. But that is just an ugly rumor, I guess.
This ain't Facebook, pal. But I heard Mark Zuckerberg will be giving Trump a handjob as he takes the oath.
Don't know, but I expect the grifting will lead to Trump being sworn in on "his" Bible.