Elfreth Questions Hegseth on Firing of Top Officials & Sexual Assault Prevention Funding
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congresswoman Sarah Elfreth (MD-03), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, questioned Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth during the Committee Hearing on the Department of Defense's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request. Elfreth focused her questions on the firing of the Commander of U.S. Cyber Command and National Security Agency, General Timothy Haugh, following a tweet accusing him of being disloyal to the President. She continued by pressing Secretary Hegseth for an increase in Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) funding and a plan to decrease instances of sexual assault in the military.
"Mr. Secretary, earlier this year, General Haugh was relieved of his command of CYBERCOM at NSA following a tweet that accused him of being disloyal to the President. And the oath that you took, the oath that I took, does not demand loyalty to any president, but to this Constitution - I too brought my copy from college with me. And yet, as of this day, General Haugh, his successor, has not yet been named, and you've stated many times that lethality of the military is critical," said Congresswoman Sarah Elfreth.
In April, General Timothy Haugh was relieved of his command after 34 years of honorable service. Elfreth released an initial statement condemning his firing.
CLICK HERE or the image below to view Elfreth's full remarks.
Congresswoman Sarah Elfreth
Remarks as Delivered
House Armed Services Committee Hearing
June 12th, 2025
ELFRETH: Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to our witnesses today. I want to echo first my colleagues and their concerns surrounding a number of issues, including the deployment of Marines to Los Angeles, the importance of supporting our ally in Ukraine, the alarming security breach that was Signalgate, and the unjust termination of members of our military from diverse backgrounds who simply want to serve our nation. But before I get to my questions, Mr. Secretary, I want to just follow up on my colleague from New Hampshire: setting aside district courts, do you believe you have the authority to defy a Supreme Court ruling, yes or no?
HEGSETH: We're not here to defy the Supreme Court ruling.
ELFRETH: Okay, I'll take that as a win. I want to move on to CYBERCOM in my state. Mr. Secretary, earlier this year, General Haugh was relieved of his command of CYBERCOM at NSA following a tweet that accused him of being disloyal to the President. And the oath that you took, the oath that I took, does not demand loyalty to any president, but to this Constitution - I, too, brought my copy from college with me. And yet, as of this day, General Haugh, his successor, has not yet been named, and you've stated many times that lethality of the military is critical. So it's difficult to understand how this administration would allow any billet to remain unfilled, especially those who lead our combatant commands. I join my colleague, Congressman Bacon, in my grave concern that both the firing and the delay in hiring of a leader of CYBERCOM only gives assurance and comfort to our adversaries. So I'm sure you would agree that any combatant command cannot be at its most lethal if a commander remains absent. When will the President announce the new commander of CYBERCOM?
HEGSETH: I would note there's a very highly capable deputy there.
ELFRETH: Absolutely, I agree.
HEGSETH: So it's not a grift at all. We recognize that, and we are in the process of ensuring that slot is filled.
ELFRETH: In the next month, two months, three months?
HEGSETH: It will not be that long.
ELFRETH: Okay, I appreciate that. General Caine, during your confirmation process, you stated that the dual-hat arrangement provides the ability to look across both organizations and has empowered both USCYBERCOM and the NSA to fulfill their missions better than each could do alone. Can you confirm for this committee that you hold that view to this day, in one sentence or less, speak to the importance of that dual-hat arrangement?
CAINE: Yeah, that reflects the current policy of the Administration - the Secretary, of course, as does the President, reserves the right to rethink that. Both organizations are critical, and whether they're a single or dual-hat relationship, if directed, we'll take a look at the risk associated with each one of them and come back to our civilian leaders with those risks and let them make a decision on it.
ELFRETH: But you are in the room, are you not, advising the President as to what is best for our national security?
CAINE: I am in the room, yeah.
ELFRETH: And can you commit to continuing your advocacy for that dual-hat relationship?
CAINE: After some analysis at the time, I wasn't even in the military - I was still coming back in. So if directed to take a look at it, we'll carefully, Ma'am, measure the goods and others of each of those. But you have my commitment that I'll continue as I have, giving my candid, forthright military advice on the each and others of all those to the Secretary and the President
ELFRETH: Thank you, sir. I want to move on to sexual assault in the military, and it remains a stain on this DoD and this entire nation. It erodes cohesion. It brings a lifetime of pain and recovery for victims, including my constituents. It's important to members of this committee that funding for SAPR, in particular, increases and that any flatline of that funding would be viewed as a decrease. In preparation for and during your confirmation, Mr. Secretary, you made commitments that you would support a robust sexual assault program and response program that "seeks to drive sexual assaults in the military down to zero." I commend you for that commitment. I agree with it. And yet it has been brought up many times - we have no budget by which to measure your commitment and your promises. So can you commit today, that when we do at last receive your final FY 26 budget, we will see an increase to SAPR funding and a plan from you as to how to drive sexual assaults down to zero?
HEGSETH: As I said in my confirmation, I applaud Congress for the efforts that have been ongoing to address that issue, which we do need to drive to zero. That funding has not been reduced. We've looked at a lot of places for efficiency - that has not been one, and I think you've seen the same news I have that, thankfully, sexual assaults are coming down, and we continue to want to do that.
ELFRETH: But we have to remain ever vigilant, which is why I hope it's not level-funded. I hope we can continue to drive that down, so I look forward to that final budget whenever we do receive it. Lastly, and I'll take this for the record, moving on to a similar topic, which is rape kits for DoD civilians overseas. In April, DHA issued a memo denying DoD non-beneficiary civilians, who are victims of sexual assault and rape, access to sexual assault evidence collection kits. If I could get for the record your explanation for this decision, these civilians support the DoD. It's incredibly important that we find and bring justice to those victims, and I look forward to working with you on it, and I'll yield back my time, Mr. Chair.
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