Pete Hegseth To Fundraise For GOP Congressman As Iran War Rages - HuffPost

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is slated to be a special guest at a campaign fundraiser for Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) later this month.

Nunn, a former Air Force officer, touts Hegseth as his “wingman” for the “Top Gun”-themed event at an airport in Ankeny, Iowa. It’s billed as a “salute to the troops,” but proceeds from tickets go straight to Nunn’s campaign.

Nunn announced Hegseth’s participation on Tuesday, just three days after the U.S. launched an open-ended war on Iran that had already claimed the lives of six Americans, including Sgt. Declan Coady, a 20-year-old from Iowa, plus three others who, like Coady, were assigned to a base in Des Moines.

The military restricts service members and civilian personnel from participating in political activities. A spokesperson for the Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment. In a statement from his campaign, Nunn said he’s prioritizing wounded-in-action, Iowa-based service members.

“Over the past several days, we’ve worked relentlessly alongside the 103rd Sustainment Command, CENTCOM, the Secretary of Defense, and the Joint Chiefs to get our WIA out of the theater and expedite notification for kin for our fallen soldiers,” Nunn said.

Referring to his campaign event, Nunn said, “We will have more to share about Operation TOP NUNN when the time is right.”

Several Democrats in Congress said they thought it was inappropriate for Hegseth to join the fundraiser.

“I would have a lot of qualms about it,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) told HuffPost. “I think the appearance is just terrible.”

“I hope that he will have developed a plan for what’s next and how we’re going to end this war in Iran before he goes to a fundraiser,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.) said.

On social media, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) asked, “Why is the least qualified Secretary of Defense in American history holding a campaign event with a do-nothing Republican in the middle of a war he started?”

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said it’s possible for the secretary of defense to participate in a political event so long as some rules are followed.

“He can’t do it in a secretary-of-defense capacity. I’ve seen other secretaries do fundraisers,” Bacon told HuffPost. “There’s a lot of rules behind it, so I presume that the Pentagon will have their lawyers to make sure they got this right.”

Other Republicans, though, didn’t give it a second thought.

“It doesn’t bother me at all,” Sen. Joni Ernst (Iowa) told HuffPost.

“Oh, thanks for telling me that!” added Sen. Roger Wicker (Miss.), who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee.