Pete Hegseth survives impeachment vote - U.S. updates

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The Hard Shoulder with Ciara Kelly and Shane Coleman on Newstalk with Kiya.

Shane Coleman (1:08)

But first, we are joined by the White House columnist with The Hill, Niall Stanage. Niall, loads we want to talk to you about. Can I start, though, with that attack, that shooting in Washington, DC., where, of course, you are based. One person killed, four others injured after a gunman opened fire in Washington, DC. What do we know about this awful event at this point?

Niall Stanage (1:33)

It happened around about 8 o'clock local time this morning. It initially was at a gym. The gunman appears to have gone into a gym, shot someone, appears to have killed that person and then shot other people. As he fled, he then barricaded himself in and was found with presumably self-inflicted gunshot wounds.

As far as a motive, the local council member says that the deceased suspect was, and I'm quoting here, in litigation recently with his building manager or owner and the person who was shot dead appears to have been the building manager. So seemingly a local dispute settled by gunfire rather than anything with a broader political motive, for example.

Shane Coleman (2:23)

OK, let's turn to political developments. And we might start with the soldier guarding the tomb of the unknown soldier, issuing a verbal reprimand to a group of advisors and staff members who were with the US. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth that followed the Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. Now, just have a listen to what happened in Texas yesterday.

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All Veterans will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times.

Shane Coleman (2:57)

Now, that is, is that, Niall, is that the soldier reprimanding Pete Hegseth and others about a lack of respect?

Niall Stanage (3:06)

It certainly is. It was directed very obviously at the group of which Hegseth was a part. It caused a big stir, as you can imagine. A clip that CNN broadcast has been viewed millions and millions of times on social media.

Somewhat surprisingly, given the Pentagon's somewhat petty attitude to other things under Hegseth, the Pentagon has broadly speaking come to that soldier's defence, saying that he was trying to enforce proper decorum and that that is acceptable, though of course it did not admit any culpability on Hegseth's part.

Shane Coleman (3:42)

How embarrassing is it for Hegseth? I mean, you could take two views on this. You could say that the soldier's reaction was over the top, or you could point out that Hegseth is someone who always emphasizes his patriotism, his respect for the military. Where do you stand on it?

Niall Stanage (4:00)

Well, I mean, there was very obvious laughter heard from Hegseth's group, not from him, it appeared to be a female laugh. And, you know, these things are taken very seriously here for obvious reasons, given the number of people who have lost their lives in the armed forces.

So I don't think the soldier was wrong to do what he did, but I'm not sure that it will have any lasting damage on Pete Hegseth. I mean, there are many more substantive controversies swirling around Pete Hegseth that I would imagine would have more of an impact on his overall reputation or longevity.

Shane Coleman (4:37)

OK, let's talk about Mississippi because Scott Colum, the new state senator from Mississippi, gave his victory speech a couple of hours ago. I think we might have a little bit of what he had to say about the struggles he felt over the years in getting to this point.

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They did not believe a moment like this was possible, but I kept the faith. There were times when I was tired and I felt like I couldn't keep going, but I kept the faith.