Every one of Hegseth’s predecessors emphasized unity and a diverse military as key to national progress and defense.

The rest of us are trusting you with all our lives. You could well be the last person to speak to the president before he decides to go to war—or considers using nuclear weapons. Partisan attachments will be meaningless at such moments.

Pete Hegseth has made it through his confirmation hearing and now appears to be on a glide path for confirmation as secretary of defense. The hearing, which lasted four hours, subjected Hegseth to questioning before the Senate’s Armed Services Committee in an attempt to gauge the Trump nominee’s worldview and qualifications to run a nuclear-armed entity with a nearly one-trillion-dollar budget.

A PSA Airlines flight crew was in a tragic mid-air collision involving an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., a source said.