Colorado Politics: Colorado veterans Jason Crow, Gabe Evans split on partisan lines over Hegseth's Pentagon nomination

The two members of Colorado's congressional delegation who have served in the military had sharply different reactions on Tuesday, as Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for defense secretary, faced questioning before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Jason Crow of Aurora and Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans of Fort Lupton divided along party lines assessing the 44-year-old Army National Guard veteran and former Fox News host's suitability to oversee the Pentagon's $850 billion budget and some 3 million uniformed and civilian employees.

Crow, an Army Ranger combat veteran and attorney serving his fourth term in Congress, said Hegseth is "grossly unqualified" to run the Department of Defense, the largest federal agency, telling Colorado Politics that the nominee's experience and character both come up short.

An Army combat veteran and retired police lieutenant elected in November, Evans expressed confidence in Hegseth's "fresh ideas" and ability to make troop recruitment, retention and readiness the military's top priorities.

At a sometimes-tense Senate confirmation hearing, the committee's majority Republicans described Hegseth as an "unconventional" nominee and an "excellent choice," while Democrats grilled Hegseth over his past comments about women in the military, his management experience and allegations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct.

Crow hit on each of those points in an interview after the hearing.

"The man remains grossly unqualified, both by experience but even more importantly by character to serve as the secretary of defense," Crow said. "The military is an organization that puts emphasis on character, integrity and leadership. It's not just the repeated accusations about alcohol abuse, abuse of women, running nonprofits into the ground and into debt, but his repeated assertions that women should not serve in the military and in combat roles are just automatically disqualifying."

Crow added that he is "incredulous" that there appeared to be little if any Republican opposition to Hegseth's nomination.

"It's beyond disappointing, the lack of opposition to somebody who is just so obviously unfit to hold this position," Crow said. "It just shows the extent to which Donald Trump has co-opted and taking over the Republican Party and the independence of Republican members of Congress, which is a very sad story — but more than sad, it's really detrimental, obviously, for national security and military institutions.

Late Tuesday, Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, an Army combat veteran and member of the Senate committee, announced that she would support Hegseth after initially expressing reservations.

Hegseth can only afford to lose support from three Republican senators, if every Democrat and Democratic-aligned independent senators vote against him.

Although like Crow he doesn't have a vote on Hegseth's confirmation, Evans said in a statement to Colorado Politics that the nominee has his backing.

“Operational readiness, recruiting and retention have sorely lagged under the Biden administration and need to be the absolute top priorities for the Department of Defense," Evans said. "Between his own combat deployment and his fresh ideas, I trust Pete Hegseth will serve faithfully."

Added Evans: "Currently Colorado’s National Guard is facing recruitment and retention problems, which directly threatens our readiness and national security. I welcome Hegseth’s plans to cut out DEI nonsense. Recruiting, retention, and readiness of our brave troops must be the priority.”

Crow acknowledged that Hegseth had a good chance of being confirmed. He vowed to hold the secretary and his department accountable from his perch on the House Armed Services Committee.

"I don't have a vote on this matter, but I do have a voice, so I will use my voice, and I'm going to tell the story, I'm gonna call this out," Crow said.

Noting that he's rejoining Armed Services after a one-term absence, Crow said, "I will have an oversight role and a budgeting role and will do everything possible to hold the secretary of defense and anyone else around him accountable for their failures and their abuse, if they occur, of our service members."