Sen. Dan Sullivan began his confirmation hearing questions of Trump Defense Secretary Nominee Pete Hegseth with a bonehead quiz about Billy Mitchell, followed by a series of anti-Biden cheap shots framed as questions that Sullivan, Trump and Hegseth agree upon.

They had a woke-off. End the woke yoke, Sullivan asked? Certainly, said Hegseth, the former Fox News talker.

In his writing and his TV talking, Hegseth labels whatever he finds objectionable as woke and claims that “the Left” has infected the military with anti-masculine attitudes.

“Just because the rest of our culture has gone soft, and effeminate, and apologetic—doesn’t mean our military can afford to. Staying tough, manly, and unapologetically lethal is the lifeblood of the fighting man,” he wrote last year in his book, “The War on Warriors.”

One of Hegseth’s main targets is the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, the nation’s highest ranking military officer. Brown is an F-16 pilot with more than 3,000 flight hours. He is the second African-American to serve as chairman of the joint chiefs.

“C.Q. happens to be black, which doesn’t matter to me one way or another, but means a lot to him,” Hegseth said.

Hegseth attacks Brown as a racist and an incompetent who should be fired. He claims Brown is one of those “emotionally stunted, angry, race-based people” who will promote black troops based on race, regardless of qualifications.

Hegseth’s book is an emotionally-stunted, angry, race-based screed with grievances on every page.

It’s not the work of someone who can manage a budget of nearly $900 billion, deal with a complex world and lead 2 million employees. It’s the work of someone who screams on TV for a living.

“With the Pentagon now run by, and fully staffed by, so-called ‘leaders’ like C.Q. Brown, we can assume that 17 percent of all black officers in the Air Force are promoted simply because of how they look—and not because of how they lead,” Hegseth wrote.

He said “we’ll never know” whether Brown became chairman of the joint chiefs because of the color of his skin, “but since he has made the race card one of his biggest calling cards, it doesn’t much matter.”

Hegseth claimed Brown “built his generalship dutifully pursuing the radical positions of left-wing politicians, who in turn rewarded him with promotions.”

While Hegseth attacks Brown and other military generals, as “cowards hiding under stars,” Sullivan has spoken highly of Brown’s record.

True to form, Sullivan served softballs during his so-called questioning of Hegseth Tuesday, with a load of piffle about woke and lethality.

There was no sign of Sen. Choose Respect, nothing about Hegseth’s drinking or treatment of women.

Sullivan thanked Hegseth for his service and sacrifice and opened with this:

“Now for the most important question you will receive all day. In 1935 before the Congress, the father of the United States Air Force, Gen. Billy Mitchell was testifying about a certain place in the world. He said, quote ‘I believe that in the future whoever holds this place will control the world. This location is the most strategic place in the world.’ What place was Billy Mitchell talking about? And let me give you a hint, it wasn’t Greenland.”

I don’t know.

Let me guess. Ohio?

“I believe he was talking about the great state of Alaska,” said Hegseth, who had a good fake laugh at Sullivan’s attempted joke. From the C-SPAN coverage, Hegseth appeared to be the only one in the room laughing.

“He was talking about the great state of Alaska,” said Sullivan. “Great answer.”

“If confirmed, will you commit to come with me to the great state of Alaska and meet our warriors who are on the front lines every day?” Sullivan said.

“Senator, I have and as I mentioned to you in the past, I did a brief training exercise up at Fort Wainwright in a previous part of my military life. I look forward to returning,” said Hegseth.

Another great answer.

“And I will say we are on the front lines with this new era of authoritarian aggression,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan said that Trump has promised to increase military spending in Alaska.

“Mr. Hegseth, if confirmed, will you work with me, this committee and the incoming commander-in-chief on continuing to build up our military assets and infrastructure in Alaska to re-establish deterrence in the Arctic and in the Indo-Pacific?” Sullivan said.

“If confirmed, senator, it would be a pleasure to work alongside you and this entire committee to recognize the very real threat in the Indo-Pacific, the very real ways even these past couple of weeks that Russia has attempted to probe and push even around Alaska and also the very real strategic significance of Alaska vis-a-vis shipping lanes through the Arctic. There are many, many ways in which Alaska is strategically significant and with a shift towards, a necessary shift toward INDOPAYCOM (Indo-Pacific Command), Alaska by necessity will pay an important role in that,” said Hegseth.

Another great answer.

Sullivan and Hegseth concluded by chanting “woke” and “lethality” as often as they could.

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