United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has received widespread condemnation over his announcement to livestream the execution of a man who killed 13 people at a military base in Texas. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle in the US Congress were quick to react in the hours after the Pentagon chief told a conservative news outlet on Thursday that former US Army Major Nidal Hasan’s death by firing squad would be made public. Beyond disgusting”, Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who recently expressed regret for his 2025 vote to confirm Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense, said on social media.
It should not be happening in America.” Republican Congressman Austin Scott, who serves on the US House Armed Services Committee, also opposed the announcement. America is better than that,” the Georgia lawmaker said on X. Scott’s Republican colleague in the US House, Congressman Rob Bresnahan, said, “The focus should be on justice for the victims and their families.” “Their pain deserves respect, not a public show,” Bresnahan said.
Al Jazeera has not heard back from the three Republican senators – Susan Collins, Mitch McConnell and Lisa Murkowski – who opposed Hegseth’s confirmation. Hasan, a former US Army psychiatrist, was sentenced to death in August 2013 after a military jury found him guilty of 45 counts of premeditated murder and attempted murder for the shooting at Fort Hood. On Monday, US President Donald Trump authorised the use of a firing squad in Hasan’s execution.
Hegseth said Thursday that it would take place at the military base on December 3 at 1pm local time ( ), the same time the 2009 shooting took place. US Senator Jack Reed, who serves as the top Democrat on the US Senate Armed Services Committee, called on the Trump administration on Friday to “reconsider” the decision, saying it is a “gift to anti-American terrorist recruiters”. Reed added, “It is absolutely shameful and damaging to America’s interests and core values.” His fellow Democrat, Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, rolled his eyes and appeared visibly shocked during a CNN interview on Thursday when asked about Hegseth’s decision.
I understand that, in this country, we have the death penalty, but public executions [are] medieval”. But not every lawmaker is opposed to the idea. Republican Congressman Andy Ogles of Tennessee said on social media that “public execution is what this terrorist deserves”, calling Hegseth’s decision “excellent”.
US Vice President JD Vance, during a trip to his home state of Ohio on Friday, told reporters he won’t “be watching” the livestream of Hasan’s death. I don’t know that that’s actually going to happen”, Vance, who served in the US Marine Corps, said. According to regulation issued by the military branch, no person under the age of 18 may witness an execution.
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