Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was ripped apart during a meeting of the Armed Services Committee on Wednesday when Illinois representative Tammy Duckworth laid into the Pentagon official, saying that he was an “unqualified yes man.”

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was ripped apart during a meeting of the Armed Services Committee on Wednesday when Illinois representative Tammy Duckworth laid into the Pentagon official(Image: Getty Images)

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was ripped apart during a meeting of the Armed Services Committee on Wednesday when Illinois representative Tammy Duckworth laid into the Pentagon official, saying that he was an “unqualified yes man.” Duckworth also went on to slam Hegseth’s tattoos.

A video of Duckworth going after Hegseth was later posted on X and has since gone viral. “You are blowing through money like my fellow cadets and I did in our first liberty after basic camp,” she lambasted.

“Luckily, I didn’t end up with a questionable tattoo,” she added. The rep is likely referring to the several tattoos that have allegedly sparked outrage.

It was reported that the government official “Kafir” tattoo, which in Arabic translates as “infidel” or “nonbeliever.” It was added that members on the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), have argued that by displaying the word, it is a sign of hostility toward Islam and demonstrates anti-Muslim sentiment. Other critics have called it Islamophobic.

Hegseth also allegedly has a tattoo with the Latin phrase “Deus Vult.” The meaning behind the phrase stated “God Wills It,” which was apparently a rallying cry during the First Crusade.

History shows that the religious war was instigated by the Catholic Church to reclaim the Holy Land from Muslim control. Critics argue that the phrase carries a connotation of religious violence and militant Christian nationalism.

Finally, Hegseth seems to sport a Jerusalem cross tattoo. The symbol, which consists of a large cross surrounded by four smaller crosses, is yet another symbol of the Crusades.

While some may argue that the cross is just a Christian symbol, some critics argue that its prominent display alongside other tattoos with Crusader associations raises concerns about potential extremist affiliations. Hegseth defended the tattoo by saying that it represented his faith and that he had it removed while enlisted in the National Guard under Joe Biden, as his superiors deemed it “extremist.”

Duckworth didn’t stop there. “Your failures, Mr. Secretary, since you’ve taken office, have been staggering. You sent classified operational information over Signal to chest thump in front of your wife, who by the way has no security clearance, risking service member lives in the process, ” Duckworth added.

“You blew the one billion dollar fight against the Houthis, who, as my colleague said, had no navy, and you lost all of those aircraft,” she added. “You’ve created such a hostile command environment that no one wants to serve as your chief of staff or work with you and other DOD leadership roles.”

“But what we should all be talking about more than all of this is that you have an unjustified, un-American misuse of the military in American cities, pulling resources and attention away from core missions to the detriment of the country, the warfighters and yes, the war fighting you claim to love,” Duckworth raged. “I don’t know if this is because you are too inexperienced and incompetent to understand the real threats facing our country, or if it’s because you were just an unqualified yes man who can’t tell the president how to keep the American people safe.”

Duckworth added that Hegseth was too focused on renaming military bases “for Confederate generals.” She added, “You said just now to Senator King that to a man and to a woman, we would rather be associated with the old Confederate names.”

“Well, I am one of those women. I served at Fort Rucker, Alabama, a base that was named for a traitor who took arms against the United States of America, led troops who killed Americans,” she seethed. ” It was renamed for Mike Novacel, a commander and Medal of Honor recipient who, in his citation for the honor, includes that he saved 29 American lives, including hovering backwards in a helicopter towards an enemy bunker, where a wounded American was lying and saved that person.”

“I know a little something about what it takes to fly a helicopter when you’ve been hit by enemy fire,” Duckworth added.”that was heroic. I would rather be associated with Mike Novacel than a failed Confederate traitor.”

“I don’t know if you are inexperienced or incompetent,” the representative concluded. “But I wonder when you will actually focus on our nation’s war-fighting mission.”