Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) blew up Tuesday morning’s Armed Services Committee hearing, torching his colleagues — and taking some of the blast himself — for their hypocrisy as they criticized Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth.

Mullin argued that even as they sat in judgment of Hegseth — his qualifications to lead the Pentagon and his admitted struggles — many of them were ignoring their own failings while demanding that Hegseth meet the standards they themselves could not.

WATCH:

“There’s a lot about qualifications,” Mullin said, referencing his colleagues who had raised questions regarding whether or not Hegseth had the necessary experience to run the Pentagon. “I think it’s so hypocritical of senators, especially on the other side of the aisle, to be talking about his qualifications to not be able to lead — to be the Secretary of Defense, and yet, your qualifications aren’t any better.”

“You guys aren’t any more qualified to be a senator than I’m qualified to be the senator, except we’re lucky enough to be here,” Mullin continued, after which he read aloud the qualifications upon which a Defense Secretary was to be judged.

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“In general, the U.S. Secretary of Defense position is filled by a civilian,” Mullin said. “That’s it. And if you have served in the U.S. Army forces and have been in the service for — you have to be retired for at least seven years and Congress can waive that. And then there’s questions that the senator from Massachusetts brought up about serving on a board inside the military industry, and yet your own secretary that you all voted for, Secretary Austin, we had to vote on a waiver because he stepped off the board of Raytheon. But I guess that’s okay because that’s a Democrat Secretary of Defense. But we so quickly forget about that.”

Mullin then pivoted to questions raised by Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) regarding Hegseth’s previous marital woes, adding, “And then Senator Kaine — I guess I’d better use ‘the Senator from Virginia’ — starts bringing up the fact that ‘what if you showed up drunk to your job?’”

“How many senators have showed up drunk to vote at night?” Mullin asked after a brief pause, prompting laughter throughout the chamber.

“Have any of you guys asked them to step down and resign from their job? And don’t tell me you haven’t seen it because I know you have. And then how many senators do you know have gotten a divorce before cheating on their wives? Did you ask them to step down?” he asked. “No, but it’s for show. You guys make sure you make a big show and point out the hypocrisy because a man’s made a mistake.”

“And you want to sit there and say that he’s not qualified?” Mullin kept at it. “Give me a joke. It is so ridiculous that you guys hold yourself as this higher standard and you forget you got a big plank in your eye. We’ve all made mistakes. I’ve made mistakes.”

Mullin turned to Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, crediting her with standing by her husband through difficulties.

“The only reason why I’m here and not in prison is because my wife loved me, too,” Mullin said to a few more laughs and a smattering of applause. “I have changed, but I’m not perfect — but I found somebody who thought I was perfect. And for whatever reason, you love Pete, and I don’t know why. But just like our Lord and Savior forgave me, my wife’s had to forgive me more than once, too, and I’m sure you’ve had to forgive him, too. And so, thank you.”

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​[[{“value”:”

Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) blew up Tuesday morning’s Armed Services Committee hearing, torching his colleagues — and taking some of the blast himself — for their hypocrisy as they criticized Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth.

Mullin argued that even as they sat in judgment of Hegseth — his qualifications to lead the Pentagon and his admitted struggles — many of them were ignoring their own failings while demanding that Hegseth meet the standards they themselves could not.

WATCH:

“There’s a lot about qualifications,” Mullin said, referencing his colleagues who had raised questions regarding whether or not Hegseth had the necessary experience to run the Pentagon. “I think it’s so hypocritical of senators, especially on the other side of the aisle, to be talking about his qualifications to not be able to lead — to be the Secretary of Defense, and yet, your qualifications aren’t any better.”

“You guys aren’t any more qualified to be a senator than I’m qualified to be the senator, except we’re lucky enough to be here,” Mullin continued, after which he read aloud the qualifications upon which a Defense Secretary was to be judged.

JOIN THE MOVEMENT IN ’25 WITH 25% OFF DAILYWIRE+ ANNUAL MEMBERSHIPS WITH CODE DW25

“In general, the U.S. Secretary of Defense position is filled by a civilian,” Mullin said. “That’s it. And if you have served in the U.S. Army forces and have been in the service for — you have to be retired for at least seven years and Congress can waive that. And then there’s questions that the senator from Massachusetts brought up about serving on a board inside the military industry, and yet your own secretary that you all voted for, Secretary Austin, we had to vote on a waiver because he stepped off the board of Raytheon. But I guess that’s okay because that’s a Democrat Secretary of Defense. But we so quickly forget about that.”

Mullin then pivoted to questions raised by Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) regarding Hegseth’s previous marital woes, adding, “And then Senator Kaine — I guess I’d better use ‘the Senator from Virginia’ — starts bringing up the fact that ‘what if you showed up drunk to your job?’”

“How many senators have showed up drunk to vote at night?” Mullin asked after a brief pause, prompting laughter throughout the chamber.

“Have any of you guys asked them to step down and resign from their job? And don’t tell me you haven’t seen it because I know you have. And then how many senators do you know have gotten a divorce before cheating on their wives? Did you ask them to step down?” he asked. “No, but it’s for show. You guys make sure you make a big show and point out the hypocrisy because a man’s made a mistake.”

“And you want to sit there and say that he’s not qualified?” Mullin kept at it. “Give me a joke. It is so ridiculous that you guys hold yourself as this higher standard and you forget you got a big plank in your eye. We’ve all made mistakes. I’ve made mistakes.”

Mullin turned to Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, crediting her with standing by her husband through difficulties.

“The only reason why I’m here and not in prison is because my wife loved me, too,” Mullin said to a few more laughs and a smattering of applause. “I have changed, but I’m not perfect — but I found somebody who thought I was perfect. And for whatever reason, you love Pete, and I don’t know why. But just like our Lord and Savior forgave me, my wife’s had to forgive me more than once, too, and I’m sure you’ve had to forgive him, too. And so, thank you.”

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