During a hearing of the Senate committee on Armed Services, Pete Hegseth refused to answer whether he gave orders for troops to shoot protesters
Slotkin grilled the Secretary of Defense over the use of the National Guard and US troops being sent to Los Angeles.
Slotkin slowly led up to the point she truly wanted to know: Was the military authorized to shoot unarmed protestors?
Hegseth refused to giver her an answer, but when he did respond it left the Michigan Senator stunned.
SLOTKIN: Have you given the order for to be able to shoot at unarmed protesters in any way? I'm just asking the question.
(Hegseth laughs off camera)
Don't laugh. Like the whole country, and by the way, my colleagues across the aisle.
HEGSETH: What is that based on? What evidence would you have that an order like that has ever been given?
SLOTKIN: It is based on Donald Trump giving that order to your predecessor, to a Republican Secretary of Defense, who I give a lot of credit to because he didn't accept the order.
He had more guts and balls than you because he said, I'm not going to send in the uniformed military to do something that I know in my gut isn't right.
He was asked to shoot at their legs. He wrote that in his book. That's not hearsay. So you're poo-pooing of this, it just shows you don't understand who we are as a country, who we are.
And all of my colleagues across the aisle, especially the ones that served, should want an apolitical military and not want citizens to be scared of their own military. I love the military. I served alongside my whole life, so I'm worried about you tainting it.
Have you given the order? Have you given the order that they can use lethal force against honor?
I want the answer to be no. Please tell me it's no.
Have you given the order?
HEGSETH: Senator, I'd be careful what you read in books and believing it, except for the Bible.
Slotkin: (Off camera) Oh, my God.
So your former predecessor, I guess that's not enough for you.
Why didn't Hegseth say "no" and move on? If Hegseth didn't give that order, all he had to say was "no" and case closed. By refusing to answer that question it's almost a certainty the order was given.
Christian Nationalism has infected the entire military complex as well as the federal government and the MAGA GOP under Trump's rule because they are subservient to him like no other.
Mark Esper did not lie when he admitted Trump ordered him to shoot protestors amid the unrest in the summer of 2020..
Turning to the Bible came out of left field and is a symptom of Hegseth's arrogance and unfitness to serve as SecDef, or hold any other position of authority within the DOD.
