On Saturday, Higseth Hitzeth was the twenty -ninth Minister of Defense, and soon joined the government of President Trump after a dramatic vote late at night in the Senate to install it as a Pentagon leader.
Mr. Higseth swore an oath in front of Vice President Jd Vans at the building of Eisenhower’s Executive Office and next to him, the wife of Mr. Higseth, Jennifer Rochet, and Republican Senators looked. The ceremony came less than 12 hours after Mr. Vans fell a 50-50 tie in the Senate to confirm, by a slight difference on the appointment of Mr. Higseth.
In brief statements, Mr. Higsith briefed what he said were his guidelines: “Restore the spirit of the warrior in everything we do, rebuild our army, and re -establish deterrence.”
He added: “We do not want to fight wars.” “We want to deter them … and we want to eliminate them responsible. But if we need to fight them, we will use a crucial and decisive power to close the enemy, destroy it, and return our children home.”
Mr. Vans thanked his vote, who won the tie and said jokingly that his children were happy that their father “won extra time.”
In his thanks to Mr. Trump, who was in Las Vegas on Saturday: “It is the honor of life, sir, to serve under your leadership. We look forward to supporting our forces and getting your support. Return to the implementation of peace through power, put America first, and rebuild our army.
This limited confirmation came unusually for the position of Minister of Defense after questions from members of both parties about the qualifications of Mr. Higsith to lead the army, especially amid allegations of alcohol abuse and aggressive behavior towards women.
For Mr. Higseth, the challenges awaiting him are difficult, as he takes responsibility for the sprawling bureaucracy at a time when he faces severe challenges all over the world.
He enters his position with much less expertise than the experience of the contemporary defense ministers who preceded him, and he admitted during the confirmation session his appointment that he would need to build an experienced team when he settles in the job. He said in his testimony: “I want more intelligent and capable people around me, and you will get it in the department,” he said in his testimony.
Mr. Higseth also lacks the wide support of the two parties, most of whom brought this role. All Democrats in the Senate voted against the confirmation of Mr. Higseth, as three Republicans who are highly skeptical of his qualifications did for this position.
It is more severe, that Mr. Higsith refused to meet any democrats before the installation, in violation of the traditions.
A candidate for the Council of Ministers rarely faced such widespread concerns about his experience – as he was an old warrior, defending old warriors, and hosting the Fox News channel – as well as Mr. Higseth’s behavior, especially in such a prominent role at the head of the American army. .
But the Republican Senate was determined to install Mr. Higseth and complete the Supreme National Security Team of Mr. Trump.
The Democrats, the minority of the Senate, assisted the Foreign Minister Marco Rubio and the director of the CIA John Ratcliffe in a vote between the two parties. But they strongly opposed Mr. Higseth, so that the senior Democrats of the Armed Forces Committee refused to support him.
In response to the vote, Charles Schumer, from New York, said that the Republicans “entrusted the strongest army in the world to a person who has no experience, bad judgment, and dangerous defects in the personality.”
Mr. Shomer said in the Senate Hall: “I hope for the sake of our forces and the interest of our country, that he can eventually raise this position.”
Three Republicans – Senator Mitch McConnell from Kentucky, Susan Collins from Maine, and Lisa Morkovsky from Alaska – voted against Higseth, skeptical of his qualifications for this position.
Higseth faced allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman at a California Republican Conference, although he denied these allegations and said that the meeting was by mutual consent. After that, he paid 50 thousand dollars to a woman.
Mr. Higseth also promised during his assertion sessions that he would not drink alcohol while he was in the job, if installed.
Meanwhile, his opposition to women in the fighting became a case after Mr. Trump announced his choice in November. But in the face of Congress questions, Mr. Higsith seemed to have changed.
In response to a question about this issue on the “Megain Kelly Show” program in early December, Mr. Higsith said he was only concerned with maintaining military standards. He said that women are used to fight, and if we have the correct standard and women meet this standard, Roger. Let’s go. “
Mr. Higseth told Senators that he supports women in the army but wants to review the standards to ensure that they are not reduced to accommodate women.
At the oath ceremony, Mr. Vance answered a question directed at Mr. Higseth about the reason for the loss of women in the armed forces.
“All people in our armed forces must trust him because he takes care of them and will fight for them and will make sure that we have the type of army that we all can be proud of, and which we all can be on.” “We are proud of that, and again, when we send it to do something, we do this well, do that quickly and then get out of hell, and this is what Minister Higsith will bring to the Ministry of Defense,” Mr. Vance. He said.
The story stated the Associated Press. Boomont reported from De Moien, Iowa.
