Following Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth telling hundreds of assembled generals their soldiers must meet the “highest male standard” of fitness on Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth and s tate Rep. Stephanie Kifowit addressed his “warrior ethos.”

“If this deeply degrading, wasteful and dangerous stunt proved anything, it’s that the best thing Hegseth can do to strengthen our military is resign in disgrace. Immediately,” Duckworth, a Democrat, said on Bluesky .

Duckworth served in the military for 23 years. In 2004, while deployed in Iraq, she was one of the first women to fly a helicopter in a combat mission. She received the Purple Heart after surviving a rocket-propelled grenade attack in which she lost both of her legs and partial use of an arm.

Hegseth said the military will

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