“A Staggering Challenge”: Trump’s Pentagon Pick Faces Scrutiny Over Military Readiness and Past Conduct

President-elect Donald Trump is stepping into office with what some analysts describe as a “staggering challenge”—a U.S. military that, according to conservative commentator Max Boot, is woefully unprepared to face America’s most formidable adversaries. Writing for The Washington Post, Boot warned that Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, Fox News personality Pete Hegseth, may lack the qualifications and experience necessary to tackle the military’s pressing issues.

“The essential question that senators must ask is whether Hegseth, a Fox News host, and former National Guardsman, has the capacity and experience to prepare the armed forces to fight a major war — and, if so, how he would go about it,” Boot wrote. “Because right now, the U.S. military simply is not ready to defeat an adversary such as China or Russia in a protracted conflict.”

Hegseth, who has faced allegations of sexual misconduct, heavy drinking, and mismanagement during his time leading two nonprofits, is also a vocal critic of what he calls the military’s “wokeness.” He attributes recruitment shortfalls to diversity initiatives that he argues alienate traditional candidates for service. However, Boot contends this analysis misses the mark.

“The real problem,” Boot wrote, “is that America became complacent after the Cold War when it downsized its armed forces and its defense-industrial base. Since then, the United States has prepared a military suitable for fighting insurgents in Afghanistan or Iraq — but utterly inadequate for an extended fight against a major power.”

Boot highlighted critical deficiencies in the military’s infrastructure, including a degraded capacity to build and service ships, shortages of drones, and a lack of institutional knowledge needed to address these challenges. He also noted that contrary to perceptions of excessive military spending, defense expenditures currently sit at just 3 percent of the gross domestic product—far below the levels seen during the Cold War.

“Now it will be up to senators to decide if Hegseth — who was dogged by accusations of mismanagement and misconduct at the two nonprofits he ran — is the right person to rebuild America’s atrophied defense capabilities,” Boot concluded.

“The committee members should grill him not only about his past but also about his plans to address this massive challenge. His record doesn’t inspire confidence that he can rise to a task that would severely test far more experienced executives.” The Senate confirmation hearings are expected to be contentious, as lawmakers weigh Hegseth’s suitability for the role against the backdrop of a military in urgent need of reform.