Today, the DNC’s People’s Cabinet member Ned Price called out Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a new video for repeatedly threatening our national security and risking the safety of our service members. Price joins DNC Chair Ken Martin and others in calling on Hegseth to resign as it has become increasingly clear that America’s national security is not safe in his incompetent hands. 

“Pete Hegseth’s complete disregard for our national security should cost him his job,” said Price. “Let me be clear, Donald Trump is responsible for this. The Secretary of Defense oversees almost three and a half million service members and civilian personnel. American lives are in their hands. Our national security is in their hands, and Donald Trump chose a Fox News weekend host with virtually no qualifications for the job.”

Top defense officials and Republicans are already joining Democrats in calling for the “least experienced defense secretary” to be fired. 

Politico: “Rep. Don Bacon, a prominent Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, became the first sitting GOP lawmaker Monday to suggest President Donald Trump should fire Pete Hegseth — calling the chaos at the Pentagon one reason why many Hill Republicans were privately uneasy with the Defense secretary’s nomination in the first place.”

CNN: “The revelation comes as some of Hegseth’s closest advisers have begun sounding the alarm about the secretary’s judgment, including his former press secretary, John Ullyot, and three former senior officials Hegseth fired last week — his top adviser Dan Caldwell, deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick, and Colin Carroll, who served as chief of staff to the deputy secretary of defense.”

Washington Post: “Pentagon officials have watched the unraveling of Hegseth’s inner circle with alarm, concerned how it would function in a national security emergency and wondering whether the president may be forced to act.”

Politico: “Former Pentagon official warns department’s dysfunction could topple Hegseth” 

“The Pentagon is in ‘total chaos’ and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is unlikely to remain in his role, according to its former top spokesperson, who painted a scene of dysfunction, backstabbing and continuous missteps at the highest levels of the department.” 

REMINDER: Hegseth already faced major concerns about his fitness to lead before his confirmation. 

NPR: “If confirmed, he would be the least experienced defense secretary in the history of the republic, going back to Henry Knox, the first secretary of war who was a key officer in Washington’s army. Those who rise to that post often come from Capitol Hill, industry or the highest ranks of the officer corps.”

Politico: “Hegseth, if confirmed by the Senate, would lead 1.3 million active-duty troops in uniform and more than 750,000 civilians, hold contentious meetings with U.S. allies and develop strike options against the Islamic State and Iranian proxies. And while Hegseth has military experience, he has never run an organization larger than a small nonprofit. …

“‘Folks are shocked,’ said a current DOD official. ‘He’s just a Fox News personality that’s never worked in the government.’ …

“‘It is a massive bureaucracy, you have to understand how that works to support national security around the globe,’ [another] official added. ‘It is tedious and challenging and it is not at all related to getting on Fox News and pontificating.’”

Wall Street Journal: “Republican senators said that they want closer scrutiny of President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary. … The former Fox News host was an unconventional choice for the top Pentagon job, as he has never led a large government agency, but the debate about his qualifications has been overshadowed by allegations related to his personal life.”

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