Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced a tense exchange with Senator Elissa Slotkin during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, as the U.S. war against Iran surpassed the 60-day mark. Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, pressed Hegseth on whether he would obey an order to deploy troops to polling stations during the November midterm elections, a scenario raised by President Donald Trump's past comments.
Hegseth's deflection fails
Hegseth attempted to deflect Slotkin's questions by calling them "gotcha hypotheticals," but Slotkin refused to accept that characterization. "It's not a hypothetical. I refuse to accept — you give that answer all the time," she said. "You and I have done this dance before, get over it!"
The exchange came after Hegseth had falsely accused the Biden administration of placing troops at polling stations during testimony before the House the previous day. Slotkin pointed out that Trump recently told journalists he regretted not involving the military in his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and that Hegseth's predecessor Mark Esper had thanked God such an order was not given.
Slotkin demands a clear answer
Slotkin pressed Hegseth directly: "Your boss, the guy you're performing for right now, told the journalists this year that he wished he signed that executive order ... what are you going to do?" She continued, "You're the guy here in the seat. It's not hypothetical. Tell the American people, will you deploy the uniform military to our polls to collect voter rolls or machines?"
Hegseth responded by accusing Slotkin of "performing for cable news" and again claimed the Biden administration had deployed troops to polls. Slotkin corrected him, noting that the troops in question were National Guard soldiers under state authority, not the Pentagon. "It's never been done in our history. Please stand up for the Constitution. Do not send uniform military to our polls," she said.
When asked for a final response, Hegseth stated he had "never been ordered to do anything illegal" and would not do anything illegal if ordered. "That goes without saying," he added.
