Listener supported, WNYC Studios.

It's the Brian Laris Show on WNYC. Good morning again, everyone. As we continue with a special

coverage edition today, we're following the confirmation hearing in the Senate

Armed Services Committee for a defense secretary nominee Pete Hexsef. We're a few minutes

behind real time, but we're just tape delaying some of these sections.

So you can hear certain senators who are key as they come up, questioning Pete Heggseth.

And what we're going to air now, again, just a few minutes behind real time, Senator Tom Cotton, who is, we could, I think,

honestly call him one of the most right-wing and very pro-Trump, hardline Republicans in the Senate,

certainly on these issues. If you remember 2020, he publicly wanted the military to be called out in response to

any violence during the George Floyd protests in Washington in that year 2020. That was when Trump was

in office, and they ultimately did not do that, but that would certainly be a breaking of precedent

and by many people's

lights, a breaking of the U.S. Constitution.

But Tom Cotton took that position at the time, so obviously we can expect him to be very

supportive of Pete Heggseth.

And after Tom Cotton will be Senator Gillibrand from New York, who was also on the Armed Services Committee.

So we're going to hear those two stretches of seven minutes each.

Here's Senator Cotton.

Recognize Senator Cotton for seven minutes.

Mr. Hexsett, let's continue on this line of questioning about what sometimes referred to as women in combat.

I think that phrase is something of a misnomer.

Many members of this committee have served in combat in the last 25 years to include women and men.

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