1. United States
2. Ind.
3. Letter

The ties of Pete Hegseth to white Christian nationalism pose a grave threat to our pluralistic democracy. His professed beliefs glorifying the Crusades, tattoos co-opting symbols of religious violence, open support for the subjugation of Muslims, advocacy for theocratic governance, and willingness to abandon democratic processes when they fail his desired ends are utterly incompatible with the oath to defend the Constitution. Allowing someone who embraces such an extremist, anti-democratic ideology to lead the Department of Defense would be to place our military in service of a religious crusade aimed at Christian dominance over all spheres of life. I urge you to reject this nomination to protect the separation of church and state and the rights of all Americans regardless of faith. Remaining silent risks normalizing a dangerous form of Christian supremacy that our founders explicitly sought to guard against.