WATCH: Hegseth suggests ‘woke' universities partly to blame for low military recruitment

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., questioned defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth about the military’s recruiting challenges.

Tuberville suggested that service members were leaving the military because of diversity, equity and inclusion training or because they'd been refused admission to military academies such as West Point.

Hegseth agreed with Tuberville and said that more military personnel teaching at the nation’s elite officer academies would improve recruitment.

“We need more uniformed members going back into West Point, the Air Force Academy, the Naval Academy as a tour to teach with their wisdom of what they've learned in uniform, instead of just more civilian professors that came from the same left-wing woke universities,” Hegseth said.

“When that changes, senator, I truly believe under Donald Trump, we will have a recruitment renaissance," he said.

Hegseth is a military veteran and conservative media personality. President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary has faced allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive drinking, and been criticized as a nominee for his controversial views on diversity and religion in the military.

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