Idaho US senator says ‘jury’s still out’ on how to handle women serving in military combat

BOISE – More than 40 years since the first American servicewomen were allowed to serve in combat, Idaho U.S. Sen. Jim Risch thinks the “jury’s still out” on how the U.S. military should manage women’s involvement in a war zone.

The three-term Republican senator responded to a question over the weekend related to President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Fox News host Pete Hegseth to lead the Pentagon as U.S. defense secretary. Hegseth, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan as an Army National Guard member, has said several times, including recently, that women shouldn’t serve in combat.

“Look, I think it’s delusional for anybody to not agree that women in combat creates certain unique situations that have to be dealt with. I think the jury’s still out on how to do that,” Risch said in a panel appearance at the annual Halifax International Security Forum over the weekend.

“I’m not a military person,” Risch continued. “I rely on the military to handle those kinds of things. What I demand of the military is that they focus on the No. 1 job they have, and that is winning, if indeed we get into combat. So I’ll leave that to them to sort that out.”

Risch, 81, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is expected to take over as chair of the influential committee when Republicans take control of Congress’ upper chamber in January. Previously as Idaho’s lieutenant governor, Risch also stepped in for six months as governor because of a presidential Cabinet appointment during the George W. Bush administration.

Risch’s comments drew almost immediate scorn from the top commander of the Armed Forces in Canada, the host nation for the weekend event.

Gen. Jennie Carignan, the first woman to hold the leading military position of the U.S.’northern neighbor, called out Risch by name, the Associated Press reported. She took umbrage with his suggestion “that women are a distraction to defense and national security” or “some kind of social experiment.”

“I can’t believe that in 2024, we still have to justify the contribution of women to their defense and to their service in their country,” Carignan said. “And all the women sitting here in uniform, stepping in and deciding to get into harm’s way and fight for their country, need to be recognized for doing so.”

Carignan received a standing ovation following her comments.

“And that, folks, is the distraction, not the women themselves,” she added.

Carignan, Canada’s chief of the defence staff after her appointment in July by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has served nearly 40 years in her nation’s military, including several international combat zones.

Risch’s office did not respond Monday to the Idaho Statesman’s request for comment.

Women make up nearly one-fifth of U.S. military

With the withdrawal last week by former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, for attorney general, Hegseth is widely viewed as the most controversial of Trump’s unorthodox Cabinet picks. Hegseth is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in California in 2017 and has acknowledged paying her in a confidential settlement. Hegseth wasn’t charged with a crime and has said the sexual interaction was consensual.

In addition, Hegseth has ties to Christ Church, a Christian nationalist congregation based in Moscow, Idaho, the Idaho Capital Sun reported.

Risch’s fellow weekend panelist, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, also on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stood up for keeping women in the military in combat. Women make up nearly a fifth of the U.S. military, she said.

“If women think they can’t participate fully in our military, take on combat roles, that’s going to have an impact on what women are willing to join our military,” Shaheen said. “That’s going to have a significant impact on our readiness, on our ability to do the mission of the men and women of the armed services, and I think that will be very clearly asked at the (confirmation) hearing for Mr. Hegseth.”

Shaheen, a former governor of New Hampshire, continues to work on the issue of sexual assault in the military, she said. Based on the allegations against Hegseth, his nomination could complicate those efforts, Shaheen said.

“I don’t think having someone with a questionable record on that issue is a message to the women of the military that we want to send, or the women of the country that we want to send,” she said at the event.

U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-North Dakota, told Politco last week that he supports Hegseth for defense secretary. But, to improve his chances of Senate confirmation, Hegseth should walk back his prior statements about the future of U.S. servicewomen in combat, he said.

“The requirement for combat readiness has to be the same for women as it is for men,” Cramer said. “And there are a lot of women who have met that standard that a lot of men could not, in which case why would you not allow women in combat?”

Over the weekend, Risch, who said he considers Trump a friend, poked at those who have criticized the president-elect for choosing “loyalists” rather than people with clearer credentials for key Cabinet posts.

“Well, duh. Who would you expect (him) to appoint, someone who’s not loyal?” Risch said, turning to Shaheen. “I suspect when you were governor, like I was, the list I had was pretty much made up of people who were loyal to me. And if they said they weren’t, they wouldn’t be on the list. So don’t be surprised at that.”