Fact check: Hegseth twice made a false claim to Congress about troops being sent to voting places under Biden
CNN and state Guards said the activations were ordered by governors, while 11 responding states said no troops were deployed to polling places.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth falsely testified under oath last week that the Biden administration deployed troops to polling locations in 15 states during the 2024 election, CNN fact-check confirmed.
- Responding to Democratic Rep. Jill Tokuda's question during House and Senate Armed Services Committee hearings, Hegseth made the claim after she asked if he would comply with a hypothetical future order from President Donald Trump to deploy troops to polling sites.
- CNN and officials from 11 states refuted the assertion, confirming that National Guard activations in 2024 were ordered by state governors for non-polling duties like cybersecurity, not by President Joe Biden for polling station deployment.
- Widespread criticism followed the inaccurate sworn testimony, with social media users accusing Hegseth of lying, while reports note his increasing isolation inside the Pentagon amidst fears of being ousted by Donald Trump.
- Federal law restricts deploying troops to voting locations unless necessary to repel armed enemies, while twelve states confirmed no such deployments occurred two years ago during the 2024 election.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Pete Hegseth reportedly paranoid about being fired by Tr*mp & his latest screw up probably isn’t helping
The week is young, and Pete Hegseth has already fallen on his face several times. Yesterday’s news about Hegseth spending taxpayer dollars on his man crush Kid Rock didn’t do the Secretary of Defense any favors, but that gaffe is child’s play compared to what CNN just exposed. Buckle up! According to that outlet, Hegseth’s testimony to the House last week contained not one but two blatant falsehoods on the same theme. When Democratic rep. Jill T…
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made a false statement about the Armed Forces in his testimony before the House of Representatives on Wednesday. Later, he repeated the same false statement in his testimony before the Senate on Thursday.
Hegseth Lies That Biden Sent Troops To Polling Places
CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale writes: Democratic Rep. Jill Tokuda asked Hegseth at a Wednesday hearing of the House Armed Services Committee whether he would comply with a hypothetical future order from President Donald Trump to deploy troops to polling places during this year’s midterm elections. Tokuda told him such a deployment would violate the federal law that prohibits sending federal troops to voting locations unless that is “necessary to …
Pete Hegseth 'Lied' Twice Under Oath About Joe Biden But Might Not Face Any Consequences: Report
Pete Hegseth reportedly made inaccurate claims under oath about Joe Biden on two separate occasions: once before the House Armed Services Committee and once before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Both statements were contradicted by CNN's fact-check and a named National Guard official. The claims centred on an allegation that Biden deployed troops to polling locations across 15 states during the 2024 election, an assertion CNN confirmed was…
Fact check: Pete Hegseth twice made a false claim to Congress about troops being sent to voting places under Biden
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently told a House committee, “2024 – Joe Biden – troops deployed to polling locations in 15 states. Explain that one to me.” There’s an easy explanation. Hegseth’s claim is not true.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 57% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
