As Hegseth Restores Military Readiness, Pfluger Blasts Schumer Shutdown as "Devastating" to Our Troops
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the Democrats' reckless government shutdown threatens to halt active-duty paychecks in less than 10 days, Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger appeared on Fox News Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy to discuss military readiness and the shutdown's impact on our armed forces.
Chairman Pfluger highlighted War Secretary Pete Hegseth's historic in-person speech this week, where Hegseth announced sweeping reforms aimed at restoring the "warrior ethos" and refocusing the Pentagon on warfighting and winning.
Highlights from the Fox News interview are below:
Chairman Pfluger on the Impacts of the Democrat Shutdown: "The shutdown that Chuck Schumer has orchestrated is devastating to our military's readiness. It does not allow service members to go train and do the things they need at a high-level. Our service members have to get back to work. This is a distraction."
Chairman Pfluger on Secretary Hegseth Restoring Physical Fitness Standards for the U.S. Military: “And the foundation has to be high standards. It has to be good discipline. And it starts with decorum. It starts with physical fitness. It starts with our grooming standards. You know, looking sharp, acting sharp, because that makes sure that there's no distractions for the tough stuff. I mean, this is just the foundation. For thousands of years, militaries have focused on good order and discipline, and physical fitness has been a key part of that. So I think when you pull the curtains back a little bit, you actually do see a lack of decorum. You see a lack of physical fitness. We're going to get back to it. And maybe it's only 10 or 15, 20% of this, of the service members. I hope it's less than that, but 1% if they don't have that standard of fitness, that's too much. We have to get to the foundational piece where our military can focus on, as you mentioned, China and Russia and the tough threats around the world.”
Chairman Pfluger on Secretary Hegseth’s Historic Speech at Quantico: “At the tactical level, I think we do a very good job in some regards. But the reset that Secretary Hegseth just summoned over five, six, seven hundred generals to Quantico to focus on the basics, to get ready, to be lethal, to double down on modernization and readiness so we can fight the next war is appropriate. And I think there are some big holes, and they start with standards. The low standards that we have seen over the past four to five years, the erosion of those standards we live and die by them. The Secretary is absolutely right to call the generals together and to say, if this makes your heart sink, then do the honorable thing and resign. But I think most people in that room want to be commanders, and they want their subordinate commanders to be able to apply good order and discipline to the military, which we have seen a drastic reduction in over the past four or five years under President Biden.”