Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) criticized President-elect Trump's nomination of Pete Hegseth, the Fox News host who called for women not to serve in combat roles, as secretary of defense.
“Where do you think I lost my leg?” Duckworth told CNN's Caitlan Collins in an interview Wednesday.
Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran and Purple Heart recipient, was one of the first women to fly combat missions as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot. In 2004, her helicopter was hit by a grenade, causing her to lose both legs and part of her right arm.
Hegseth, whom President Trump nominated Tuesday to lead the Pentagon, is also a veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq and currently co-hosts Fox News' “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
She called for the removal of other generals involved in diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and said women should not serve in combat roles.
“Look, he's not qualified to be Secretary of Defense. And obviously he's made comments like saying he doesn't think women should serve in combat and that he wants to fire the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.” Duckworth said in an interview Wednesday. Highlighted by Mediaite. “I ask him, how does that strengthen our military?”
Noting that there are currently more than 225,000 active-duty women in the military, she said, “We cannot go to war today without military women.''
Trump is moving ahead with dramatic military reforms amid growing concerns about what Hegseth will bring to his administration. His proposals for the Pentagon include promises to cut spending, slim down the ranks at the top and scale back efforts to increase the military's acceptance of transgender and female soldiers.
