Jen Rubin interviews Amy McGrath

Amy McGrath echoes Tammy Duckworth's sentiments in slamming Pete Hegseth's inadequate responses at confirmation hearing

Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth—an Iraq War Veteran, Purple Heart recipient, and former Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs eviscerated secretary of defense nominee Pete Hegseth today in his confirmation hearings, leaving him stumbling over basic geography questions and standard procedural questions that he simply couldn’t handle. Other Senators—most notably Kristin Gillibrand, Mazie Hirono, and Elizabeth Warren—were unsparing in interrogating him and calling him out for his hypocrisy, his history of alleged sexual assault, and his miraculously shifting stance on most things (most notably, of women serving in combat). However, it was Duckworth—who served in the Reserve Forces for 23 years and was among the first handful of women to fly combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom—who left him speechless. She, on the other hand, was not speechless, and even fearlessly uttered the words that have been patently obvious from the moment Donald Trump decided to elevate a weekend Fox host to be our next Secretary of Defense: “You are not qualified, Mr. Hegseth. You're not qualified.”

She would know. Duckworth served in the Reserve Forces for 23 years before retiring at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 2014, after her helicopter was hit, resulting in the loss of her legs and partial use of her right arm. During the year she spent recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, she advocated for her fellow soldiers. She comes with receipts, knows precisely what is needed from the leader of the Pentagon, and knows that Hegseth is in no position to fill that role. She also knows that, if Hegseth had his way (according to a number of statements he made prior to being tapped for the role), her gender would have disqualified her from serving our country.

Some highlights of her interrogation:

Amy McGrath

Another military veteran, Amy McGrath, joined me for The Contrarian’s first Zoom interview. Like most of the Democratic Senators—most fiercely Tammy Duckworth— she did not hold back in her criticism:

Editor’s Note: According to a July 2016 letter from a Concerned Veterans for America trustee, Pete Hegseth “voluntarily resigned his position” at that organization.