Senator Slams Pete Hegseth for Dodging Military Deployment Question at Senate Hearing

Pete Hegseth repeatedly avoided answering whether he would deploy U.S. troops to polling places during the upcoming November elections.

During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) pressed Hegseth on whether he would authorize military seizure of ballots or voting machines if requested by President Donald Trump. Trump has previously expressed regret for not signing an executive order to do so in the 2020 election, which he continues to claim was stolen.

Slotkin asked:

"If the president, who regrets not signing that executive order to the then SecDef in 2020, asks you to seize ballots or voting machines in states during the 2026 election, will you stand up to the Constitution and say no, or will you salute and do his bidding?"

Hegseth dismissed the question as a "gotcha hypothetical," but Slotkin countered that it was no longer hypothetical given Trump’s prior remarks. She stated:

"It’s not a hypothetical. I refuse to accept — you give that answer all the time. You and I have done this dance before, get over it! Your boss, the guy you’re performing for right now, told the journalists this year that he wished he signed that executive order to your predecessor. And your predecessor said publicly ‘Thank god, we didn’t actually go forward with it.’ What are you going to do?"

Slotkin further demanded:

"You’re the guy here in the seat. It’s not hypothetical. Tell the American people, will you deploy the uniform military to our polls to collect voter rolls or machines?"

Hegseth again evaded a direct response, instead accusing Slotkin of performing for cable news. Slotkin responded:

"Dude, just answer the question."

When pressed, Hegseth pointed to the deployment of soldiers to ballot stations in the 2024 elections, but Slotkin clarified that those troops were ordered by state governors, not President Biden. She urged Hegseth one last time to commit to rejecting any order to deploy military personnel to polling sites.

Slotkin concluded:

"It’s never been done in our history. Please stand up for the Constitution. Do not send uniform military to our polls."