Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has been accused of trying to push his own version of Christian nationalism onto the members of the U.S. military. He has started monthly Christian worship services at the Pentagon, supported a far-right pastor who believes women shouldn’t vote, and claimed that the war in Iran was blessed by God — while criticizing Pope Leo, who said Hegseth’s views were wrong.
This is despite the First Amendment, which stops the government from creating an official religion.
Hegseth’s dislike for religions other than his own twisted form of Christianity was clear when he appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee and was questioned by a Jewish senator about his repeated use of a historically antisemitic term to describe critics.
Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), who is Jewish, was direct.
“Pharisees,” she said, “is a problematic and historically weaponized term that has been used to make Jewish communities look hypocritical or morally corrupt.” She told Hegseth, “Words matter. It’s a hurtful term. How can you justify using this language as Secretary of Defense?”
Hegseth defended the term, saying, “I feel like it’s a pretty accurate term for folks who don’t see the plank in their own eye.
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He stood by his words without apology, even as a Jewish senator explained in person why the term has been used for centuries to harm Jewish people.
Rosen’s message was clear: “Sir, I cannot stand for that.
That is wrong. It is not respectful to people, and I expect anyone in leadership to be respectful and not be an antisemite.”
The Secretary of Defense of the United States was called an antisemite by a sitting U.S. Senator during a Senate hearing on camera.
This didn’t happen by accident.
Earlier this month, Hegseth compared Trump to Jesus and called the media “Pharisees.” He has invited a Christian nationalist pastor to speak at the Pentagon. He has used religious language to support Trump’s unauthorized war in Iran.
By all accounts, he is actively promoting a Christian nationalist ideology throughout the U.S. military — an institution that the Constitution forbids from establishing religious tests.
Active-duty Marines are calling his department the “Department of War Crimes.”
He fired the Army Chief of Staff in a one-minute phone call. He removed the flu shot requirement during a war. He was hospitalized for stress-related issues while managing a shooting conflict. Internal documents contradict his public claims about the war’s progress. His own vice president is quietly questioning whether he has been lying to the president.
And now a Jewish senator has accused him of being an antisemite to his face, and Hegseth has done nothing to prove otherwise.
Instead, he has defended his words.
That’s why he needs to be removed from his position as soon as possible.
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