Pentagon Pete’s “Pharisees” Slur Sparks Antisemitism Outcry at Senate Hearing

At a tense Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth refused to back down after Jewish Senator Jacky Rosen confronted him over his repeated use of the word “Pharisees” to disparage journalists and political critics. Rosen warned that the term has been weaponized against Jewish communities for centuries, casting them as hypocritical and morally corrupt. Despite the warning, Hegseth insisted the label was “pretty accurate” for those who criticize military operations, specifically defending the Trump administration’s aggressive posture toward Iran.

“You stand by calling people Pharisees,” Rosen pressed. “That is wrong. It is not respectful to people, and I expect anyone who is in leadership in our country to be respectful and use respectful terms and not be an anti-semite.” Hegseth’s refusal to apologize or reconsider signals a troubling insensitivity to antisemitic language at the highest levels of the Defense Department.

This exchange came after Hegseth launched into a bizarre biblical rant earlier in the hearing, comparing President Trump to Jesus and accusing the press of being “Pharisees” who obsessively seek out flaws rather than recognizing the “historic success” of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. His religiously charged attacks are not isolated incidents. Earlier this year, Hegseth invited a controversial Christian nationalist pastor to preach at the Pentagon, drawing criticism for mixing faith and military policy in ways that threaten the secular nature of the armed forces.

Hegseth’s rhetoric is part of a broader pattern of Trump administration officials weaponizing religion to silence dissent and demonize the media. His embrace of Christian nationalist ideology within the Pentagon undermines democratic norms and raises serious questions about the Defense Department’s commitment to religious tolerance and respect.

As the U.S. continues its fraught military engagement with Iran, the Defense Secretary’s inflammatory language and refusal to acknowledge the harm caused by antisemitic tropes only deepen divisions and erode trust in government institutions. The Senate must hold him accountable before this dangerous rhetoric further infects the military and public discourse.