Sullivan receives commitments from SECDEF nominee Hegseth on Alaska’s strategic importance, restoring military’s war-fighting mission

As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to enter office again, he has been rounding out his cabinet that will be vital to advising the President on any subject he may require relating to the duties of each member's respective office.

Part of the process in solidifying the cabinet is that candidates undergo a Senate hearing to ensure that the nominees are qualified. On January, 14, the hearing process got underway for Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump’s Defense Secretary nominee.

Senator Dan Sullivan, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and chair of the SASC Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, took part in the hearing and received commitments from Hegseth regarding Alaska and restoring military readiness.

Specifically, Sen. Sullivan asked for, and received, commitments from Hegseth concerning the strategic importance of Alaska and the need to continue “to build up our military assets and infrastructure in Alaska to establish deterrence in the Arctic and in the Indo-Pacific.”

Sen. Sullivan also received commitments from Hegseth to visit Alaska, to address the Navy’s shipbuilding crisis, to restore lethality and war-fighting as the core mission of the Department of Defense (DOD), and to root out woke policies that detract from that mission.

Senator Sullivan pressed the SECDEF nominee, telling him that over the past two years, Alaska has had multiple Chinese and Russian naval task forces, joint strategic bomber task forces in the waters and airspace, and that the President-elect said Alaska would receive even more defense investments.

“Mr. Hegseth, if confirmed, will you work with me, this committee and the incoming commander in chief on continuing to build up our military assets and infrastructure in Alaska to establish deterrence in the Arctic and in the Indo-Pacific?” the senator asked.

“Senator, it would be a pleasure to work alongside you and this entire committee to recognize the very real threat in the Indo-Pacific, the very real ways—even these past couple of weeks—that Russia has attempted to probe and push in and around Alaska, and also the very real strategic significance of Alaska vis-a-vis shipping lanes through the Arctic. There are many, many ways in which Alaska is strategically significant,” Hegseth answered.

The next step in the confirmation process is that Hegseth must be approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee. According to Reuters, the committee is expected to vote as early as Monday on if a complete Senate should consider him.

If the SASC approves, he will then be presented in front of the Senate. If the majority agrees the nominee should be held to a full Senate vote. At this time, a confirmation vote date has not yet been announced.

Even though the President-elect has not officially been inaugurated, cabinet members can be confirmed before he takes the first word of the presidential Oath of Office.