'Disturbed': GOP senator calls out Pete Hegseth for major 'rookie mistake'

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) thinks that former Fox News host Pete Hegseth will make a "great" defense secretary so long as he cuts down on what he describes as "rookie mistakes."

In an interview with Politico, Wicker said that he was "disturbed" by some of the comments that Hegseth made while discussing Ukraine this week, particularly his remarks shutting down the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO and regaining control of territory that it has lost to Russia over the last decade.

"He made a rookie mistake in Brussels and he’s walked back some of what he said," Wicker said. "I don’t know who wrote the speech — it is the kind of thing Tucker Carlson could have written, and Carlson is a fool."

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It is unclear why Wicker retains faith in Hegseth's potential greatness even as he gave a speech filled with Carlson talking points.

Wicker also said it was an error for Hegseth to make concessions to Moscow before any official negotiations even begin.

"Everybody knows... and people in the administration know you don't say before your first meeting what you will agree to and what you won't agree to," the senator told Politico.

Trump during the 2024 campaign vowed to end the three-year-old war between Russia and Ukraine within a day, although it's been nearly a month since he took office and there is no sign that the war is winding down.