Slotkin: ‘We're really at risk of politicizing the military’

Senator-elect Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) on Sunday warned of the “risk of politicizing the military" in an interview on ABC News’s “This Week.”

ABC News's Martha Raddatz was talking to the Michigan Democrat about President-elect Trump's pick for Defense Secretary, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, saying he "has also said that 'Any general that was involved in any of the DEI woke crap has got to go,'" and then asked Slotkin if she thinks the president-elect is set "to fire top generals who he considers 'woke.'"

Slotkin responded that she believes “they've been very clear that they're putting together some sort of panel that's gonna look at generals, people who have served their nation their entire lives, over multiple administrations, Democrat and Republican, in combat, they are now openly talking about dismissing them like some sort of kangaroo court.”

“You can imagine the stress in the Pentagon about that, but also in the future of who we are as a military, right?” Slotkin added. “Our military and the role of the military is in the Constitution for a reason, and I think we're really at risk of politicizing the military in a way that we can't put the genie back in the bottle.”

Slotkin’s fellow Democrats have criticized Hegseth as Trump’s selection to lead the Department of Defense. Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.), who served in the Army, has said that Hegseth is not “a serious person and a serious pick.” Another New York Democrat, Rep. Dan Goldman, has said he was “very disturbed” by Trump’s choice of Hegseth for the top role in the Pentagon.

“I’m shocked, truly, and this is exactly what we worried about when we warned about Donald Trump, which is that he is going to appoint unqualified loyalists to shape this government into his own personal fiefdom,” Goldman said earlier this week.

While serving as a Fox News host and conservative commentator, Hegseth had mapped out policy positions aimed at pushing back on efforts to promote diversity and open opportunities for women and LGBTQ service members.

The Hill has reached out to the Trump transition team for comment.