The GOP Senate Armed Services chairman criticized Pete Hegseth on Friday for making a “rookie mistake” after the new defense secretary offered shifting positions related to US posture toward the war in Ukraine this week.
In Brussels on Wednesday, Hegseth said Kyiv joining NATO is unrealistic and that a return to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders, before Russia invaded Crimea and eastern Ukraine, “is an unrealistic objective.” A day later, Hegseth hedged on those comments, saying “everything is on the table” in negotiations between the two countries.
“Hegseth is going to be a great defense secretary, although he wasn’t my choice for the job,” Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi told Politico. “But he made a rookie mistake in Brussels and he’s walked back some of what he said but not that line.” Wicker said he was “surprised” by the defense secretary’s original comments but “heartened” by the change of course.
He also said he favors a firm posture with Moscow, telling Politico, “I prefer we didn’t give away negotiating positions before we actually get started talking about the end of the Russia-Ukraine war.”
