Pete Hegseth: DEI DUI hire

Face it: Pete Hegseth was a DEI hire. GOP affirmative action to insure that incompetent alcoholics aren’t discriminated against.

Here’s Mike Brock (paywalled, so no link) on the colossal blunder that is Pete Hegseth:

“The core argument against DEI initiatives has always been straightforward: institutions should hire based on merit alone, without regard for demographic considerations. That positions should be filled by the most qualified candidates, period. That excellence must never be sacrificed on the altar of representation. Whatever one thinks of these arguments—and reasonable people can disagree about them—they at least claim to be rooted in a principle: that qualifications should be the primary determinant in hiring decisions.

 

“Yet here we are, watching that principle abandoned entirely when it became politically inconvenient.

“Pete Hegseth, our Secretary of Defense, was a Fox News host and former reserve officer who never served in a high-level Pentagon position, never managed a large military organization, never developed strategic defense policy, and never navigated the complex bureaucracy he now leads. Previous Defense Secretaries—appointed by presidents of both parties—typically brought decades of relevant experience: Lloyd Austin (retired four-star general, former CENTCOM commander), Mark Esper (Secretary of the Army, defense industry executive), Jim Mattis (retired four-star general, former CENTCOM commander), Ash Carter (decades of Pentagon experience including Deputy Secretary), Chuck Hagel (defense policy expert, senior Senate experience), Leon Panetta (CIA Director, White House Chief of Staff), Robert Gates (CIA Director, decades of national security experience).

 

“The historical pattern is clear: regardless of party, Defense Secretaries have traditionally brought substantial relevant experience to the role—until now. What changed? Not the importance of the position. Not the complexity of global threats. What changed was who was doing the hiring and who was being hired. Suddenly, for those who claimed to champion meritocracy, merit became entirely optional.”

Trump appointed him. The Senate GOP confirmed him. They get the blame.

True opponents of DEI hiring would point to this and say “told you so.” Instead, we hear crickets from the Trump GOP. Why? Because they weren’t worried about incompetent hires, they were worried about hiring teh swarthy people. White folks like Hegseth can’t be DEI hires, by definition.