Pete Hegseth pitched himself as a “change agent” to lead the Defense Department while Democrats excoriated him as unfit for any military leadership post in the first confirmation hearing for President-elect Donald Trump incoming Cabinet on Tuesday.
The Senate Armed Services Committee has typically been one of the least partisan on Capitol Hill. But its members split cleanly along party lines Tuesday, as Democrats grilled Hegseth on his past comments on women in the military and allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive drinking.
Republicans, meanwhile, praised Hegseth, a former Fox News host and Army combat veteran, as a necessary disrupter to the sprawling military bureaucracy.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the new chairman of the Armed Services Committee, acknowledged that Hegseth was an “unconventional” pick. But he said “that may be what makes Mr. Hegseth an excellent choice,” comparing him to Trump.
Republicans said the military’s readiness has been hampered by “woke” initiatives focused on “distractions” like diversity and climate change.
In his opening remarks, Hegseth said he would “restore the warrior ethos,” “rebuild our military” and “re-establish deterrence” if confirmed.
“Unlike the current administration, politics should play no part in military matters. We are not Republicans or Democrats — we are American warriors,” Hegseth said. “Our standards will be high, and they will be equal — not equitable, that is a very different word.”
But Democrats on the committee raised a long list of objections. Their concerns included an accusation of sexual assault, allegations of financial mismanagement of nonprofit veterans’ groups he ran, his past opposition to women serving in combat, and his lack of experience running a large organization.
Hegseth dismissed the attacks as a “coordinated smear campaign” in the “left-wing media” and refused to engage in questions about their specifics.
“The totality of your own writings and alleged conduct would disqualify any service member from holding any leadership position in the military, much less being confirmed as the secretary of Defense,” said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the top Democrat on the panel, who said Hegseth will be the first defense nominee he will voted against after almost three decades in the Senate.
“Unfortunately, you lack the character, composure and competence to hold the position of secretary of defense,” Reed added.
Here are five things to know about Pete Hegseth.
The contentious hearing, which was interrupted by protesters on several occasions less an hour after it began, set a tone that is likely to be present at the dozen hearings also scheduled this week as senators race to help Trump fill out his administration ahead of his inauguration on Monday.
Hegseth declined to meet with Democrats on the Armed Services Committee, except for Reed, suggesting he’s more focused on consolidating support among Republicans than winning significant bipartisan backing. He cannot afford to lose many GOP votes in the narrowly divided Senate.
A key vote on the Armed Services Committee will be that of Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, a military veteran and sexual assault survivor who has voiced past skepticism of Hegseth’s bid.
She began her questioning Tuesday by introducing a letter from a Hegseth supporter before asking if he would support women continuing to serve in combat roles, but seemed satisfied when he answered affirmatively.
“Yes, women will have access to ground combat roles, combat roles, given the standards remain high,” he said.
Trump has stood by Hegseth throughout the process. And his allies on Capitol Hill and in outside conservative advocacy groups have been pressuring Republican senators like Ernst to support the nomination.
Still, senators in both parties have expressed concern about a 2017 sexual assault allegation.
A female staffer for a Republican women’s group said Hegseth took her phone and blocked her from leaving his hotel room before he forced himself on her after a political convention in Monterey, California. She reported the incident to police, and Hegseth settled for an undisclosed sum.
The FBI background check on Hegseth, which the chairman and the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee received late last week, does not include interviews with the woman or with Hegseth’s ex-wives, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the contents of the report.
Hegseth has said the relation was consensual, and his lawyer said he “strongly felt that he was the victim of blackmail and innocent collateral damage in a lie that the Complainant was holding onto to keep her marriage intact.”
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., noted that that relationship occurred while Hegseth was still married to his second wife and shortly after the birth of a child resulting from a separate affair between Hegseth and a colleague.
“I am shocked you would stand here and say you were completely cleared when you can so causally cheat on your second wife and cheat on the mother of a child you had fathered two months before,” Kaine said. “At each one of your weddings, you’ve taken an oath to be faithful, is that correct? Just like you would take an oath to be faith to the Constitution as secretary of defense.”
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., defended Hegseth and charged his fellows senators with hypocrisy.
“How many senators have shown up drunk to vote at night? Don’t tell me you haven’t seen it, because you have,” he said. “And how many senators do you know have gotten divorced for cheating on their wives? … It is ridiculous you guys hold yourselves to higher standards.”
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who has championed victims of sexual assault in the military, pressed Hegseth on how he could lead an organization where about 18% of active-duty troops are women and a large portion are Democrats.
Gillibrand said she understood that controversial comments Hegseth has made in the past came when he had a different job. But she noted that as recently as November, when he should have known he could be tapped by the incoming Trump administration, he said in a podcast interview that the U.S. “should not have women in combat roles” and that “men in those positions are more capable.”
“Please explain these types of statements because they’re brutal, and they’re mean, and they disrespect men and women who are willing to die for this country,” Gillibrand said.
Hegseth insisted that he respects women who can serve in the uniform, but said that his issue is with physical fitness standards, which he claimed have been lowered to allow women — a charge Gillibrand said was not true.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., a former Army helicopter pilot who lost both her legs when shot down in Iraq, raised her voice as she pressed Hegseth to answer questions he tried to evade.
“You say you want to keep our forces strong by not lowering standards [for women],” she said. “Then let’s not lower our standards for you.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., grilled Hegseth on his time running two veterans nonprofits which, according to The New Yorker, ended when he was forced out over concerns about his management of donor funds and workplace behavior.
Hegseth says that he is proud of his management and “every dollar spent” at the organizations.
Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, referenced an NBC News reporting that Hegseth’s alcohol cosumptions concerned his colleagues at Fox News.
While denying he had a drinking problem, Hegseth repeated his commitment to not drink alcohol during his tenure as defense secretary, if confirmed.
NBC News’ Frank Thorp V contributed.
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