Moulton takes aim at Hegseth

Politics

Rep. Seth Moulton is becoming one of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s most vocal critics, calling him “criminally incompetent” in new comments.

Rep. Seth Moulton has emerged as one of the leading critics of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Danielle Parhizkaran/Boston Globe

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has had no shortage of critics during his first few months on the job. This list unsurprisingly includes many Democrats, but one Massachusetts lawmaker appears to be particularly incensed. 

Rep. Seth Moulton is emerging as one of Hegseth’s most vocal detractors, calling for his resignation and warning repeatedly that Hegseth’s inexperience could have dire consequences for the country.  

The Salem Democrat opposed Hegseth’s nomination from the beginning, but recently he told Boston.com that Hegseth had far surpassed his expectations for how “criminally incompetent he could be.”

Hegseth himself is a “major national security threat,” Moulton added.

Like many members of President Trump’s new cabinet, Hegseth is not shying away from controversial moves. He has directed staff to identify and remove transgender service members from the military, removed books that deal with race and gender from schools overseen by the Pentagon, and is working to significantly cut the number of generals within the armed services. 

But those moves made minor ripples, comparatively, to revelations surrounding his digital practices. First there was news that a journalist was included in a group chat on the messaging app Signal where top officials openly discussed war plans. Then came reporting that Hegseth shared sensitive information with his wife and brother in another Signal group. Most recently, The New York Times reported that Hegseth’s use of passwords could pose a national security risk. 

All of this is adding up to a situation that empowers America’s enemies, Moulton said. 

“The Signal debacle was a serious criminal breach in and of itself, but I think it’s also a symptom of the more dangerous problem: that our national security is not being entrusted to serious or competent people. The chances that we go to war because our adversaries see chaos at the Pentagon is a threat to us all,” said Moulton, a Marine veteran who served in Iraq. 

In Moulton’s video calling for Hegseth to resign, the congressman spoke briefly about what even he admits is a wonky term: “politicizing the military.” This, according to Moulton, simply means that Hegseth would rather use the military as a tool to amplify “personal, extremist politics” instead of focusing on national defense. 

This erodes public trust, he said, but it also paves the way for Trump to potentially use the military for illegal actions. 

“Our Founding Fathers knew how dangerous this could be. What Trump and Hegseth are doing by firing top generals and replacing them with loyalists is simply getting people who disagree with them out of the way,” he said. “It also means that we could be headed toward a future where there’s no one left at the top of the ranks to push back when Trump wants to use the power of our armed forces for some illegal goal.”

With Democrats out of power in Washington, Moulton is for the moment stuck relying on rhetoric instead of tangible moves that could oust Hegseth. One of Moulton’s Republican colleagues, Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, made waves by suggesting that Hegseth should be fired last month. As a former Air Force general and a prominent member of the House Armed Services Committee, Bacon’s comments were notable. Moulton said he was “proud” of Bacon and praised his “simple courage.”

But other congressional Republicans are sticking by Hegseth, as is Trump. The president’s affinity for Hegseth makes perfect sense, Moulton said, and is unlikely to change. 

“I honestly believe that Trump wants to keep Hegseth around because everyone wants friends with the same problems. I’m sure Trump sees a bit of himself in someone with … sexual abuse allegations, a series of wives, and remarkable hubris,” he said.