of washington post In an email obtained by Breitbart News on Wednesday, a national security reporter appears unimpressed by Pete Hegseth's more than 20 awards and recognitions during his two combat tours. It became.
of of the post National security reporter Alex Horton on Tuesday contradicted Sen. Tommy Tuberville's description of Donald Trump's defense secretary nominee, Hegseth, as a man with “honorable” military service.
“Can you help me make sense of the highly embellished meaning of this release?” Horton asked Sen. Tommy Tuberville's staff wrote a piece praising Hegseth in response to Tuberville's op-ed. “Is it the total number of awards or the types of awards that make him highly valued in the eyes of the senator?”
Horton provided Tuberville's staff with a list of Hegseth's awards, more than 20 in total, as described by the National Guard Bureau for “reference.”
Bronze Star Medal x2
joint service award medal
Army Commendation Medal x2
Army Reserve Component Merit Medal x3
National Defense Medal with Bronze Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal with 2 Campaign Stars
Iraq campaign medal with two campaign stars
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
World War on Terrorism Medal
Military Reserve Medal with “M” Device
army service ribbon
Overseas service ribbon x2
DCNG emergency services ribbon
NATO medal
Joint Achievement Unit Award
combat infantry badge
Expert Infantryman Badge
Breitbart News obtained the full text of the email correspondence between Mr. Horton and Mr. Tuberville's staff. In these emails, Horton, who served in Iraq as an Army infantryman, said: According to In his official bio, Mr. Hegseth said that of Mr. Hegseth's extensive military service history during the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), “nothing here stands out to me.”
“term [highly decorated] It's subjective, so I tend to look for less common awards that describe someone that way,” Horton said. “Nothing in terms of quantity or rarity surprises me as an infantry officer who served during the GWOT era, but perhaps the senators would have a different view.”
Tuberville's staff made their position clear.
“Yes, Sen. Tuberville considers a person who served two combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and earned two Bronze Stars to be highly decorated,” his staff responded.
The Bronze Star is awarded for heroic acts.
Mr. Hegseth has vowed as secretary to make far-reaching reforms at the Pentagon (which has failed annual audits for seven years in a row), but he has faced a fierce smear campaign from the mainstream media, with the news organization facing a long series of He reuses slurs and quotes numerous statements. An anonymous source attacking Hegseth's character.
Dozens of Mr. Hegseth's current and former colleagues have come forward to defend him.
Despite the attack, Hegseth continued his tour Wednesday and met individually with senators.
“This morning I spoke with the president-elect,” Hegseth said. “He said, 'Keep going.' Keep fighting. I'll always be behind you.”
RELATED: 'We need a drill sergeant' Sen. Tuberville endorses Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense
Asked by CBS News if he had intended this “forever,” he replied: I've always been a fighter. I'm here for the fighters. This is personal and passionate.
Several Republican female senators, particularly Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia), and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) Breitbart's Christina Wong reported that he defended Mr. Hegseth from an attack.
Tuberville, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has been one of Hegseth's most vocal defenders, calling him the “drill sergeant” the Pentagon needs.
“There's so much going on right now that we can't focus on one thing,” Tuberville said. “That’s why we need to have the military in place with guys like Pete Hegseth.”
of washington post Owner Jeff Bezos penned an op-ed in October lamenting the newspaper's biased perception and lack of public trust.
Mr. Bezos promised to make unpleasant changes to restore public trust in the publication. “Now, more than ever, the world needs trusted, independent voices,” he wrote.
Bradley Jay is Breitbart News' Capitol Hill correspondent. Follow him on X/Twitter. @BradleyAJay.
