'It's not my place': John Kennedy makes unusual Pete Hegseth remark

WASHINGTON, DC: Senator John Kennedy declined to say he has confidence in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, calling it “not my place” before raising concerns about his leadership.

Kennedy said Hegseth is “consolidating power” and appears to be firing “some pretty good people,” though he said he did not know whether they deserved to be dismissed.

The Louisiana Republican made the comments on Sunday, September 6, while speaking with Kristen Welker on NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press’.

John Kennedy questions Pete Hegseth’s leadership

Asked whether he still had confidence in Hegseth, Kennedy initially pushed back on the premise, telling Welker, “Well, it’s not my place to have confidence in him.”

Welker pointed out that Kennedy is a senator, but Kennedy asked to finish his response before describing what he sees in Hegseth’s approach.

“He’s consolidating power,” Kennedy said. “That’s clear. He seems to be firing some pretty good people.”

Kennedy did not identify the people he was referring to or say whether he believed their dismissals were justified.

He explicitly left that question open, saying, “Whether they deserve it or not, I don’t know.”

The comments came after Welker noted that Republican Sen Thom Tillis was calling for Hegseth to be replaced. 

Kennedy did not directly endorse that call during the exchange.

Instead, he said he was “not worried about the personalities” and focused on what he described as three military priorities.

Louisiana Republican calls for more military spending

Kennedy said the military needs more ammunition, saying, “We need more bullets, not just for Iran but for the world.”

He also called for the United States to work with Ukraine on developing new methods of warfare, saying that effort “begins with drones.”

Kennedy said that money would probably have to come through reconciliation because, in his view, Democrats oppose spending more on the military because of their opposition to President Donald Trump.

“We’re going to have to probably do it for reconciliation because the Democrats hate Trump so much that they would they they they don’t want to they don’t want to spend money on the military,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy said he had voted for Trump and would probably vote for him again unless evidence showed that the president should not have fired the people in question.

John Kennedy also weighed in on Ukraine

The interview also turned to Ukraine, where Welker asked Kennedy what Russia should surrender in a potential peace agreement.

Kennedy said he did not know what Russia was willing to give up, but criticized the House for failing to pass a Russian sanctions bill during the previous week.

“Vladimir Putin. This guy’s a pirate,” Kennedy said. “He’s got blood under his fingernails.”

Kennedy argued that pressure, rather than diplomacy alone, was necessary, saying, “You’ve got to show him you mean business.” 

He said another opportunity to pass the sanctions legislation remained and argued that the United States should help Ukraine and Europe.