To the Editor:
Re “Pete Hegseth Is Sworn In as Defense Secretary After Being Confirmed by Slim Margin” (nytimes.com, Jan. 25):
To those Senate Republicans who voted to confirm Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense (and Vice President JD Vance, who broke a 50-50 tie): Unfortunately, you are far from the first members of the U.S. Senate to disgrace themselves through cowardice. But you have done so in historic terms.
By confirming such a wildly unfit nominee and ignorant hatchet man as Mr. Hegseth, you, who trumpet belief in America’s greatness, have actually just severely weakened the United States and greatly endangered your constituents.
Tom Wolfson
Washington
To the Editor:
Senator Mitch McConnell’s vapid vote against the confirmation of Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense is meaningless. This senator, as well as most of his Republican colleagues, had two significant chances to put an end to such unfolding calamities through impeachment votes against Donald Trump. They chose not to do so.
Now they, as well as our country and the wider world, must live with the consequences. Senator McConnell’s leadership was absent when it really mattered. He will long be remembered not for this one vote to withhold confirmation but for twice voting not to convict the president of the United States.
The Vote to Confirm ‘a Wildly Unfit’ Pete Hegseth
