Congressman and Former Green Beret: Next Generation Is ‘Condemned’ to Conflict

Feb 9, 2025

Pat Harrigan, Congressman from North Carolina, and former Green Beret, shares his insights on military readiness and national security. He discusses the devastating implications of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, believing it has 'condemned' future generations to conflict. Harrigan emphasizes the need for strategic shifts in defense spending, highlights the importance of securing the southern border, and advocates for restoring benefits to military personnel affected by vaccine mandates. His passion for strengthening U.S. defense stems from years of service and a deep concern for future conflicts.

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Intro

00:00 • 2min

Reflections on Leadership and Military Strategy

02:07 • 10min

Navigating Fiscal Responsibility and Border Security in Congress

12:23 • 4min

Legislative Efforts to Reinstate Military Benefits Lost Over Vaccine Refusal

15:57 • 4min

Reflections on Military Service and Political Aspirations

19:47 • 3min

After years of military service, and long before running for Congress, Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., and his wife started a family and focused on growing their business in North Carolina. The couple had “nothing to do with politics until Afghanistan came crashing down” in 2021.

Watching Afghanistan fall so quickly back into the hands of the terrorists that Harrigan had fought to defeat during his military service was one of the reasons Harrigan says he decided to run for Congress.

“Our politicians failed us,” he said. “Our military leaders failed us. And at some point, you just step back and you realize, if we're structurally so weak that we would lose Afghanistan the way that we lost it, we're just asking our adversaries to attack us.”

“I really do believe that the way that we left Afghanistan condemned the next generation of Americans to conflict,” Harrigan added. “And I want to do everything that I can possibly do here in Washington to deter that next conflict that I think is very likely to happen. And in the event we are not able to deter it, I want to set the conditions to win it because there's no substitute for winning.”

Harrigan’s passion for strengthening the U.S. defense industrial base began to take form during his years of military service, going back to when he was 23 and found himself in Afghanistan overseeing about 350 Americans, Afghans, and expatriates at a small combat outpost.

The position was “very difficult,” Harrigan says, but also a “very rewarding leadership experience that really shaped a lot of who I am today.” Harrigan, a graduate of West Point, returned to Afghanistan in 2015 after becoming a Green Beret.

The congressman joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” just one month into his term to discuss how the Trump administration can restore U.S. military readiness, and decrease wasteful use of military resources that is adding to the U.S. national debt.

Please enjoy my conversation with Rep. Pat Harrigan!

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