TL;DR
- Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth promoted a video featuring pastors calling to criminalize gay sex and repeal women’s right to vote.
- Pentagon quickly insisted Hegseth “of course” believes women should vote.
- Hegseth’s church leaders preach against women in authority and LGBTQ rights.
- Hegseth himself has slammed women in the military and mocked transgender soldiers.
- LGBTQ community fears rollback of hard-won rights if Hegseth sets defense policy.
Pentagon’s Hot Mess: Pete Hegseth Under Fire
The Pentagon was left doing verbal gymnastics this week after Pete Hegseth, the Trump-backed nominee for Secretary of Defense, shared a video straight out of a Handmaid’s Tale fever dream. The clip spotlighted pastors from Hegseth’s own church who casually floated repealing the 19th Amendment—yes, the one that gives women the right to vote—while also waxing nostalgic for the days when sodomy was illegal.
Pressed on whether the nominee actually buys into this nonsense, Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson tried to douse the flames. “Of course the Secretary thinks that women should have the right to vote,” Wilson told reporters, before throwing up his hands and adding he wouldn’t “litigate every single aspect” of Hegseth’s beliefs. Translation: don’t expect a straight answer.
The Church of Control
The ringleader of this sermon-sideshow is Doug Wilson, a self-described Christian nationalist out of Idaho and the head pastor at Christ Church, where Hegseth proudly parks his soul. Wilson didn’t mince words, declaring that voting should be a household duty—led by the husband, naturally—and that women should steer clear of any position “exercising authority over men.” To Wilson, the wife’s “job description” boils down to motherhood and managing the home, where she is “entrusted with eternal souls.”
Not to be outdone, fellow pastor Toby Sumpter chimed in, admitting he’d cast the household ballot on behalf of his family. Another pastor went full send, saying he’d welcome a repeal of the 19th Amendment altogether.
That’s the crowd Hegseth chose to amplify. The Pentagon spokesperson even conceded that Hegseth “very much appreciates many of Mr. Wilson’s writings and teachings.” What he didn’t address? The screaming homophobia baked into these teachings, including Wilson’s fantasy about outlawing gay sex again.
A History of Hostility
This isn’t some out-of-character slip from Hegseth. The former Fox News host—who famously bragged about not believing in germs or handwashing—has a long record of taking shots at women and LGBTQ people in uniform. Just last year, he dismissed women soldiers as a “complication” in combat, claiming without evidence that their presence leads to higher casualties.
And let’s not forget his greatest hits: mocking trans service members as “dudes in dresses” and crowing when the Navy erased the name of LGBTQ rights icon Harvey Milk from a ship. This is not a man who’s stumbled into controversy—he’s been building his brand on it.
Why It Matters for LGBTQ Rights
If Pete Hegseth is given the Pentagon’s keys, the message to queer Americans in uniform is chilling: your service is conditional, your dignity negotiable. LGBTQ soldiers have fought—and died—for a country that hasn’t always loved them back. Having a Defense Secretary aligned with voices calling to criminalize their very existence signals a terrifying regression.
And for women, it’s just as dire. If the nation’s top defense official cozy-ups to pastors who dream of stripping women’s voting rights, what does that mean for military women risking their lives abroad? Hegseth’s worldview doesn’t just belong to the past—it threatens the very present of equality in America.
For queer Americans, women, and allies, the bottom line is clear: Pete Hegseth isn’t just another Trump crony. He’s a walking, talking reminder that rights fought for can always be fought over again. And this time, the battleground could be the Pentagon itself.