Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Defense Department, fought back against allegations of personal misconduct, sexual assault, and excessive drinking, as well as overall questions over his lack of qualifications to lead the Pentagon on Tuesday.
For more than four hours, Hegseth was grilled by Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee while Republicans came to his defense and praised his “warrior mentality” as they look to shepherd him over the finish line as Trump’s secretary of defense.
During the hearing, the first for Trump’s Cabinet picks, Hegseth fought back against what he classed as a media “smear campaign.”
“A small handful of anonymous sources were allowed to drive a smear campaign, an agenda about me, because our left-wing media in America today, sadly, doesn’t care about the truth,” he said.
“I’m willing to endure these attacks, but what I will do is stand up for the truth and for my reputation,” he said.
Hegseth is facing accusations of sexual assault stemming from a 2017 incident that he said was consensual. Hegseth was never charged in the case, but he later agreed to a settlement with the woman who had not been publicly identified.
DEMOCRATS’ ‘STUPIDITY’ ON DISPLAY AT SENATE HEARINGS
“I was falsely accused in October of 2017,” Hegseth acknowledged during questioning by Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) of the sexual misconduct report. “It was fully investigated, and I was completely cleared.”
Under heated questioning from Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) on whether he cheated on past wives and honored his wedding vows, Hegseth insisted the allegation of sexual assault was “false” but did not deny that the sexual encounter occurred.
“You think you are completely cleared because you committed no crime. That’s your definition of cleared,” Kaine said. “You had just fathered a child two months before [the alleged assault] by a woman that was not your wife. I am shocked that you would stand here and say you’re completely cleared.”
Throughout the hearing, several Democrats accused the nominee of not taking time to meet with them. Ahead of the hearing, Hegseth only met with one Democrat on the Armed Services Committee: ranking member Jack Reed (D-RI).
“I’m equally distressed that you would not meet with me before this hearing. We could have covered all of this before you came here, so I could get to the 15 other questions that I want to get to,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said during a tense line of questioning over women in combat.
The Trump transition has pushed back against this assessment, calling it “a partisan blustering designed to slow down the confirmation process.” A source familiar said Hirono refused a meeting with Hegseth and that some others took weeks to get a meeting on the books.
“Mr. Hegseth and his team have been proactively reaching out to all SASC Democrats (and in fact all Senate Democrats) for weeks, starting well before the Christmas holiday, to schedule meetings. We continue to get meetings on the books for the coming days and weeks,” Brian Hughes, a Trump transition spokesman, said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner.
An aide for Hegseth confirmed that the nominee has meetings scheduled with seven Democrats on Wednesday. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) confirmed he will be one of them.
Democrats grill Hegseth on lack of qualifications
Democrats on the panel said Hegseth was unfit to hold the position, citing the allegations of his previous conduct. In addition to the alleged sexual assault incident, he has faced questions involving alcohol abuse and claims he mismanaged two conservative veterans’ groups.
“Mr. Hegseth, I do not believe that you are qualified to meet the overwhelming demands of this job,” Reed said.
In his questioning, Reed argued the FBI background investigation into Hegseth was “insufficient.” The investigation did not include an interview with the woman who accused Hegseth of sexual assault, according to a source familiar.
The Rhode Island Democrat asked for the report to be made widely available to all committee members, but Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) rejected that request along with another for a second round of questions.
“We must acknowledge the concerning public reports against you,” Reed added. “A variety of sources, including your own writings, implicate you with disregarding laws of war, financial mismanagement, racist and sexist remarks about men and women in uniform, alcohol abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and other troubling issues. I have reviewed many of these allegations and find them extremely alarming.”
The ranking member also read aloud an excerpt from Hegseth’s book, in which he wrote, “Modern leftists who represent the soul of the modern Democratic Party literally hate the foundational ideas of America,” and the former Fox News host referred to Democrats as “foes.”
Reed reiterated his concerns over accusations of financial mismanagement during his time leading two nonprofit veterans organizations from 2008 to 2016. Funding at Vets for Freedom plummeted while Hegseth was at the helm, from $8.7 million in 2008 to $265,000 in 2010. Hegseth later led the nonprofit group Concerned Veterans for America. Tax filings revealed the organization spent more money than it raised from donations during the majority of the time that Hegseth was at the organization.
“In each year you were in charge, expenses far exceeded revenues, until the organization teetered on bankruptcy and had to be merged with another group,” Reed said in his opening statement. “In fact, according to public reporting, an independent forensic accountant reviewed the organization’s finances and discovered evidence of gross financial mismanagement.”
Hegseth parted ways with both nonprofit veteran organizations due to allegations of drunken sexual misconduct and draining one of the organizations’ finances, according to a whistleblower report. The nominee has denied wrongdoing and downplayed the whistleblower report, calling it an email from a disgruntled employee.
At one point, Reed asked the nominee to describe a “JAGoff,” which he initially declined to do. After getting pressed, Hegseth said, “It would be a JAG officer who puts his or her own priorities in front of the warfighters, their promotions, their medals, in front of having the backs of those who are making the tough calls on the front lines.”
As the hearing continued, Democrats used their opportunity to scrutinize Hegseth’s record regarding his role with the veteran nonprofit groups and his previous comments about women in combat roles in the military.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) told Hegseth he would have supported him to be the Pentagon’s spokesman but that he believed he was too inexperienced to head the massive department.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), an Iraq War veteran, quizzed Hegseth on military matters, asking him myriad questions ranging from the highest level of international security agreement that the secretary of defense would lead to details on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN.
When Hegseth mentioned South Korea, Japan, and Australia, Duckworth informed him that none of the nations are in ASEAN.
“None of those three countries that you mentioned are in ASEAN. I suggest you do a little homework before you prepare for these types of negotiations,” Duckworth said.
Duckworth, a Purple Heart recipient and Blackhawk helicopter pilot who lost her legs and partial use of her right arm in Iraq, reflected on her recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for a year in 2004.
“Every single day, I woke up and fought my way back because I wanted to go back and serve next to my buddies that saved my life,” Duckworth said.
“How can we ask these warriors to train and perform the absolute highest standards when you are asking us to lower the standards to make you secretary of defense simply because you are buddies with our president-elect,” Duckworth questioned rhetorically.
Kelly, a Navy combat pilot and astronaut, detailed allegations of Hegseth being drunk at work events, asking for “true or false” answers.
“Memorial Day 2014 at a CVA event in Virginia, you needed to be carried out of the event for being intoxicated,” Kelly asked.
Hegseth responded to each specific allegation: “Anonymous smears.”
“I’m just asking for true or false answers — an event in North Carolina, drunk in front of three young female staff members after you had instituted a nonalcohol policy and then reversed it, true or false?” Kelly asked.
“Anonymous smears,” Hegseth replied.
GOP defends Hegseth’s indiscretions
Several Republican senators on the committee came to Hegseth’s defense, which served as a counterbalance to Democrats’ attacks.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) declared himself a “Christian Zionist” and asked if Hegseth would consider himself one in response to one of the protesters’ remarks, while Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) praised the nominee’s reference to Jesus Christ and his Christian faith.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) accused Democrats on the committee of hypocrisy over their concerns over Hegseth’s drinking and infidelity.
“How many senators have shown up drunk to vote at night? Have any of you asked them to step down and resign [from] their job? And don’t tell me you haven’t seen it because I know I have,” he explained. “How many senators do you know have got a divorce before cheating on their wives? Did you ask them to step down? No, but it’s for show. You guys make sure you make a big show and point out the hypocrisy because a man’s made a mistake, and you want to sit there and say that he’s not qualified.”
Hegseth reiterated a previous commitment he made to refrain from drinking alcohol while in the position of secretary of defense if he’s confirmed, but he declined to affirm that he would resign if he failed to uphold that promise.
Hegseth arrives with full-throated support
Hegseth arrived at the hearing Tuesday morning flanked by his family and multiple Republican senators, and he was greeted by supporters with a standing ovation upon entering the hearing room. As the applause continued, a “U-S-A” chant broke out. A few protesters against Hegseth’s nomination were also in the hearing room.
“In pursuing these America First national security goals, we will remain patriotically apolitical and stridently constitutional,” Hegseth said in his opening remarks, which were interrupted several times by protesters.
In a possible sign of some nerves, he stumbled while naming his seven children while thanking the people in his life.
“Unlike the current administration, politics should play no part in military matters,” he added. “We are not Republicans or Democrats — we are American warriors.”
The Army National Guard veteran and former Fox News weekend host was expected to use the hearing to reflect on his military background serving in “Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, Afghanistan, and in the streets of Washington, D.C.” The 44-year-old acknowledged that his biography does not resemble that of most defense secretaries who have served in prior administrations, but he vowed to be “a change agent.”
“It is true that I don’t have a similar biography to defense secretaries of the last 30 years,” Hegseth said. “But, as President Trump also told me, we’ve repeatedly placed people atop the Pentagon with supposedly ‘the right credentials,’ whether they are retired generals, academics, or defense contractor executives, and where has it gotten us?”
Trump “believes, and I humbly agree, that it’s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm,” Hegseth added. “A change agent. Someone with no vested interest in certain companies or specific programs or approved narratives.”
Hegseth has argued before his nomination that women should not serve in combat roles and has argued against diversity and inclusion efforts, which were expected to be topics the Democrats on the committee would question him on.
In his testimony, Hegseth echoed Trump’s “America First,” more isolationist-centered global agenda, vowing his only special interest is “the warfighter” and “deterring wars, and if called upon, winning wars.”
The nominee specifically noted China was the Pentagon’s largest threat and stressed the need for “urgent action” to counter its military aggression and buildup in the Indo-Pacific region. Hegseth also mentioned the need to confront Russia’s nuclear expansion.
Hegseth was introduced by former Sen. Norm Coleman, Minnesota’s last Republican senator, and Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), Trump’s incoming national security adviser.
“Pete Hegseth is an out-of-the-box nominee, and I say it’s high time to get out of the box,” said Coleman, who has been serving as a sherpa for Hegseth’s nomination.
Waltz argued in his opening remarks that the military needs change. He said the Pentagon is facing “a devastating recruitment crisis,” that “readiness is down [and] our costs are up,” and that the “status quo is unacceptable.”
Despite the controversy surrounding Hegseth’s nomination, he has earned the support of some veterans’ groups that argue his past is not as critical as the work he will do to improve military readiness if he is confirmed.
GOP and Hegseth criticize Pentagon’s diversity efforts
Republicans have long been critical of the Biden administration’s pursuit of diversity and inclusion, arguing that it takes away from the military’s lethality and readiness. Hegseth has reflected those criticisms.
“DEI is not about giving everybody opportunity. It is rooted in Cultural Marxism, the idea that you get the room, any room with oppressor vs. oppressed. It’s race essentialism, and it is poison,” Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) said.
“It has no business whatsoever in our military,” Schmitt added. “I think the American people have spoken loudly and clearly about this. They’re tired of this. They’re tired of woke ideology. And to my Democrat colleagues on the other side, if you haven’t picked up on that, you missed the plot, because that’s what Nov. 5 partially was about.”
When asked how to solve the recruitment problems facing the military services, Hegseth said, “First and foremost, up front, you have to tear out DEI and [critical race theory] initiatives, root and branch out of institutions.”
“Then you have to put in Army, Navy, and Air Force secretaries and others, civilian positions at the helm, who are committed to the same priorities that the president of United States is, and, if confirmed, the secretary of defense will send a clear message that this is not a time for equity,” he added. “’Equity’ is a very different word than ‘equality.’ Equality is the bedrock of our military, men and women, duty positions in uniform, black, white. Doesn’t matter.”
Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) blamed the Biden administration for wasting “5 million man-hours on ‘counter extremism’ and diversity training, which he referred to as “woke training or DEI.” The Indiana senator then asked Hegseth what he made of those decisions.
“That’s a lot of service members sitting in a lot of briefs, hearing about a lot of threats or political perspectives that might be dangerous, that comport — do not comport to threats that actually exist inside the force, or ideas that introduce critical race theory or DEI or climate change initiatives that they and their commands have to conform to,” Hegseth said.
“That also includes new layers of leadership that have been created under this administration committed to enforcing those types of DEI and CRT initiatives. So we hear 5 million man-hours, and that sounds like a lot. The more troubling aspect is how many training hours that takes away from a company commander or battalion commander or a Wing Commander who’s out there trying to maintain their force,” he added.
Hegseth’s religious tattoos
Hegseth has multiple religious tattoos that have garnered attention in part because he had orders revoked due to concerns he was a religious extremist.
Specifically, his tattoos of the Jerusalem Cross and “Deus vult” motto were deemed so controversial by the Department of Defense in 2021 that Hegseth was pulled from National Guard duty ahead of President Joe Biden’s inauguration, according to emails leaked to the Associated Press.
“It’s a historic Christian symbol,” Hegseth said.
“In fact, interestingly, recently, I attended briefly the memorial ceremony [for] former President Jimmy Carter,” he added. “On the floor of our National Cathedral, on the front page of his program was the very same Jerusalem cross. It is a Christian religious symbol.”
The Jerusalem Cross originated as the symbol of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and was established in 1099 by Godfrey of Bouillon, who carried it as his personal coat of arms. It has since become a widely recognized symbol of Catholics’ presence in the Holy Land and is depicted on altars, vestments, church edifices, and more.
The Latin phrase “Deus vult” means “God wills it.”
Hegseth pressed on his views on women in combat
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) immediately questioned Hegseth about his comments from a Nov. 7 podcast in which he said women shouldn’t be allowed in combat and his shifting views on the matter.
Shaheen asked Hegseth to respond directly to the two women on the committee who have served: Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Duckworth.
“On the one hand, you say that ‘women are not competent, they make our military less effective,’ and on the other hand, you say, ‘Oh no, now that I’ve been nominated to be secretary of defense, I’ve changed my view on women in the military,’” Shaheen said.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the two women who’ve served our military in uniform and including in the Central Intelligence Agency, contributions on the battlefield, indispensable contribution,” Hegseth said. “When I’m talking about that issue, it’s not about the capabilities of men and women. It’s about standards. Standards that we unfortunately over time have seen eroded in certain duty positions, certain schools, certain places, which affects readiness.”
Hegseth said he now believes women “make amazing contributions across all aspects of our battlefield.”
Gillibrand, a champion for preventing military sexual assault who has sponsored bipartisan legislation to hold perpetrators accountable, pressed Hegseth on his previous comments on women. The New York senator told him: “You will have to change how you see women to do this job well.”
She told Hegseth that his statements about women in combat roles are “brutal, and they’re mean, and they disrespect men and women who are willing to die for this country.”
“I appreciate your comments, and I would point out I have never disparaged women serving in the military. I respect every single female service member that has put on the uniform past and present,” Hegseth said. “My critiques, Senator, recently and in the past and from personal experience, have been instances where I’ve seen standards lowered.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) also questioned Hegseth’s change of opinion on women in combat.
“That’s a very, very big about-face in a very short amount of time,” Warren said, accusing the nominee of changing his perspective in an effort to secure the nomination.
“I’ve heard deathbed conversions, but this is the first time I’ve seen a nomination conversion,” Warren added.
As Democratic senators slammed Hegseth for his comments about women in combat roles, GOP senators entered letters from female military veterans supporting Hegseth into the record of the hearing.
Hegseth says he would appoint official to respond to sexual assault
Hegseth vowed to appoint a senior-level official who will focus on “sexual assault prevention and response” in the wake of the prior allegations against him of sexual assault.
Ernst, a combat veteran who has been vocal about being sexually assaulted, used her time pushing Hegseth to vow to appoint a senior officer to prevent sexual assault and rape in the military and to conduct an audit of the Pentagon.
Ernst, an advocate of women in the military, has worked alongside Gillibrand to sponsor bipartisan legislation to prevent sexual assault in the armed forces.
“Under your watch, if you are confirmed so as secretary of defense, will you appoint a senior-level official dedicated to sexual assault prevention and response,” Ernst asked.
“Senator, as we have discussed, yes, I will,” Hegseth said.
The Defense Department has an office dedicated to sexual assault response and prevention.
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Ernst, who was initially hesitant to support Hegseth, had several meetings with the nominee ahead of the hearing. During her questioning, she appeared to be satisfied with his responses to questions on sexual assault prevention and women in the military.
The Iowa senator is seen as a critical vote that could affect Hegseth’s confirmation chances. Trump can only afford three defections within the Senate Republican Conference to get his picks confirmed, as the GOP holds a 53-seat majority.
