Hegseth does a 180 on women and gays in combat
Hegseth has called policies allowing gays and transgender troops to serve in the military part of a “Marxist agenda.” But on Thursday, when he met with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), reporters asked him whether he thought gays should serve in the military, and he replied, “Yes.”
And once an unapologetic critic of women serving in combat roles, Hegseth called women “some of our greatest warriors” during a recent Fox News appearance. ...
Hegseth has been working to explain himself behind closed doors. [Senator] Collins, after meeting with him for nearly 90 minutes, told reporters that he had backpedaled on women in combat. ...
“He was asked in our post-meeting gaggle [with reporters] whether he was supportive of women in combat and his answer was he was supportive of that,” [Senator] Hawley said. ...
“I heard he was changing his tune a little bit on women in combat,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), a Trump ally. “Sometimes you make comments that you don’t really want to stand by, sometimes, you know, when you’re not up for confirmation.”
