1. United States
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3. Letter

Trump's choice of Fox News host Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense is a disaster. As a TV host and conservative commentator, Hegseth has outlined a number of policy positions that would roll back decades of efforts to promote diversity and expand opportunities for women and LGBTQ service members. He has specifically called for the firing of Joint Chiefs Chair CQ Brown, along with any other generals involved in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts, and has said women should not serve in combat roles. If installed at the Pentagon, Hegseth would be tasked with carrying out Trump’s asinine campaign against “wokeness” in the military, which will likely include banning transgender troops, slashing DEI initiatives and placing new restrictions on compensation for traveling to receive abortions. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), a former Marine Corps officer, said he believes Hegseth is “going to try very hard to politicize the military.” “Hegseth is undoubtedly the least qualified nominee for SecDef in American history. And the most overtly political. Brace yourself, America,” said Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Independent Veterans of America. And then there is the issue of character. A police report​ released November 20th provided graphic details about a sexual assault accusation against Hegseth when he was visibly drunk at a conference in October 2017 hosted by the California Federation of Republican Women. And a previously undisclosed whistle-blower report on Hegseth’s tenure as the president of Concerned Veterans for America, from 2013 until 2016, describes him as being repeatedly intoxicated while acting in his official capacity — to the point of needing to be carried out of the organization’s events. And additional reports​ also detail his fiscal mismanagement of two separate veterans organizations, which begs the question - if he can't handle a budget in the millions, how can he handle a budget in the billions? And even the mother of Pete Hegseth has reservations​. Penelope Hegseth sent him an email in 2018 accusing the former Fox News host of “routinely mistreating women for years” and displaying a “lack of character,” The New York Times reported on Friday. “On behalf of all the women (and I know it’s many) you have abused in some way, I say … get some help and take an honest look at yourself,” Hegseth's mother wrote. “I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth.” In every way, this nomination needs to be stopped. Please vote NO on Pete Hegseth.