OPINION:
As President-elect Donald Trump continues to shape his second administration, he is delivering on his mandate to shake up the status quo and select Cabinet members with the leadership experience that America needs. Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard are effective leaders, patriots and fighters who know and have what it takes to fix America’s most important institutions.
I am a retired Navy SEAL with five combat deployments. I deeply respect my brothers and sisters who have faced combat and stepped up to serve this country. I admire Pete and Tulsi because they have been there. They understand military strategy, the intelligence community and the dangers we face abroad. Together, they have walked the walk and share a common goal: to make America safe and strong again, especially against our biggest adversaries around the world.
Along with the hundreds of veterans who have expressed their support for Ms. Gabbard, I wholeheartedly agree that she is the right choice to lead the intelligence community. Ms. Gabbard has seen the true cost of war. As a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve with three deployments, she is a proven warrior, and she fought to end the “forever wars” as a member of the House Armed Services, Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs committees.
Ms. Gabbard is a tough, principled, independent veteran whose support cannot be bought, and she is not afraid to stand up to the political establishment. That is exactly what the country needs.
Ms. Gabbard will also work to protect Americans’ constitutional rights and stop the political weaponization of our government against the people. Americans have rightfully been concerned about their privacy under the Biden administration, with countless abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act by the FBI and the National Security Agency against American citizens. That is unacceptable.
Similarly, Mr. Hegseth is the right pick to lead the Pentagon. He’s not a career bureaucrat. As a former member of the Army National Guard, he is a combat-tested leader who knows firsthand the challenges and gaps of our defense system. I’ve worked hard to support veterans with legislation such as the Warriors to Workforce Act, which provides on-the-job training, financial support and apprenticeships through a GI Bill amendment. These efforts align with Mr. Hegseth’s work through organizations such as Vets for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America.
Mr. Hegseth has already earned the trust of more than 100 Navy SEAL veterans who believe he is the man for the job. The backing of enlisted troops and veterans speaks volumes, and it is because he gets it — he will make sure our troops are taken care of. He will avoid the global conflicts that unnecessarily put our military men and women in harm’s way, and he will restore lethality as the only metric that matters at the Department of Defense.
We have seen the disasters caused by weak leadership on the world stage. I want to see those responsible held accountable for the botched Afghanistan withdrawal and other disastrous actions taken under the Biden administration. These failures put our troops at risk and emboldened our enemies. Mr. Hegseth and Ms. Gabbard have what it takes to root out incompetence and corruption in our military and intelligence community. They will ensure mistakes like the botched Afghanistan withdrawal never happen again. In the Middle East and everywhere else, they will send a clear message with Mr. Trump’s “peace through strength” agenda: Don’t mess with the United States of America.
The failures we’ve seen in recent years — botched military operations, ineffective foreign policy and declining trust in our defense institutions — boil down to one big problem: too many empty suits in charge who have no real experience. They are career politicians and bureaucrats, making decisions based on politics, not the realities of war. That must change. When national security is on the line, we need strong, decisive leadership from people with the experience to know what is happening.
It’s time to reject the status quo and fix what’s been broken for so long. That begins with choosing leaders who have served and sacrificed and who know what it means to put America first. This is why I boldly and proudly support Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard for these key roles. They’re the right leaders for this moment alongside Mr. Trump. They will bring back competence, accountability and trust in government. Congress should confirm them without delay. America deserves nothing less.
• Derrick Van Orden represents Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District. He is a retired Navy SEAL and dedicated advocate for veterans and national security.
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