‘We know who the good guy is’ – Trump’s defense candidate grilled over the war in Ukraine

On January 15, 2025By Littum

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense was grilled about the war in Ukraine during a Jan. 14 confirmation hearing after he failed to mention Russia’s full-scale invasion during his inaugural address.

Speaking to the Defense Committee, Pete Hegseth was asked if the omission was “code for ‘we will give up Ukraine’.”

“We know who the aggressor is,” Hegseth replied, adding: “We know who the good guy is. We want to see (the war’s resolution be) as beneficial to the Ukrainians as possible.”

“But that war must end,” he added.

The defense committee is expected to vote on Hegseth’s confirmation as early as Monday, This is reported by Reuters. He will then be considered by the full US Senate.

Hegseth’s nomination in November sent shockwaves through Pentagon corridors, with officials anonymously questioning his qualifications to lead the department.

He would lead 1.3 million troops and over 750,000 civilians, preside over a 850 billion dollar budgetand hold meetings with US allies, acting as the main defense policymaker and adviser.

A former conservative talk show host on Fox News, Hegseth is seen as an isolationist who has called for reducing US involvement in the NATO military alliance.

He previously served as an infantry captain in the Army National Guard, serving multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.

After his discharge from the army, he became the head of the conservative organization Concerned Veterans for America and in June 2024 published a book titled “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.”

Hegseth also ran unsuccessfully as a Republican candidate for the US Senate in Minnesota in 2012.