WASHINGTON — Defense secretary hopeful Pete Hegseth faced intense scrutiny from Democrats in a Tuesday confirmation hearing, fielding questions about allegations of sexual assault, infidelity, showing up to work drunk and disparaging women’s participation in the military.
The top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Jack Reed (R.I.), even told Hegseth at the start of the hearing that he lacked “the character and composure and competence to hold the position of secretary of defense,” a scathing rebuke from one of the most mild-mannered lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
But Hegseth, who previously worked as a weekend host for Fox News, emerged from his four-hour grilling with nothing but praise from Republicans, and barring any last-minute surprises, he appears to be headed to a smooth confirmation as early as next week.
“I’m encouraged,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told HuffPost of Hegseth’s performance. “I think he helped himself immensely today.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) also brushed off concerns about the sexual assault allegations against him, saying he had “acquitted himself extremely well and made a strong argument for why he ought to be the secretary of defense.”
In still more good news for Hegseth, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) appeared satisfied with his answers to her questions during the hearing about sexual assault in the armed forces and women serving in the military.
Hegseth confirmed he supported maintaining women serving in combat roles — contradicting past statements questioning their fitness for such positions — and committed to appointing an official in the Pentagon if confirmed that would focus on tackling sexual assault. Republicans are expecting Ernst, a military veteran and a survivor of sexual assault, to support his confirmation in committee next week.
No Republican senators have come out against Hegseth’s nomination, and it would require at least four of them to block his confirmation on the Senate floor. But that doesn’t mean he’s out of the woods to become President-elect Donald Trump’s leader of the Pentagon.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the former GOP party leader and a defense hawk, said nothing Tuesday when asked for his take on Hegseth’s performance. Neither did Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a key GOP swing vote who has been vocal about sexual violence.
Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah), meanwhile, told Politico that he is still undecided.
Hegseth weathered some tough inquiries from Democrats during his hearing.
Five female Democratic senators excoriated Hegseth over his past comments in opposition to women serving in combat roles in the military. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), an Iraq War veteran who lost her legs while serving, was especially critical of Hegseth, saying he was uniquely unqualified to lead the department.
“You will have to change how you see women to do this job well, and I don’t know if you are capable of that,” scolded Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in another exchange that focused on women in the military.
In another heated moment, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) pressed Hegseth on whether he believes someone should be disqualified from being defense secretary if they’ve committed sexual assault. Kaine brought up a 2017 incident in Monterey, California, involving a woman accusing Hegseth of preventing her from leaving a hotel room and sexually assaulting her in some way that included him ejaculating onto her stomach.
Hegseth has said the encounter was consensual and that he was never charged with a crime. But details are murky as he entered into a nondisclosure agreement with the woman making the allegations.
“Now, if it had been a sexual assault, that would be disqualifying to be secretary of defense, wouldn’t it?” Kaine asked Hegseth, who would not answer the question directly and instead addressed the allegations against him. “It’s a false claim then and a false claim now,” Hegseth said.
They went back and forth several times. It was awkward and pointed, and Hegseth declined to answer the question each time.
“I’m not a perfect person,” Hegseth said at one point as Kaine asked about infidelity in past relationships. “I have failed in things in my life and thankfully I’m redeemed by my lord and savior, Jesus Christ.”
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) told reporters later that Republicans knew the sexual assault allegations would come up in Hegseth’s hearing, so Kaine’s questioning wasn’t a surprise.
“I think Mr. Hegseth responded, and now it’s a matter of moving forward and finding out whether or not it made anybody else think twice about whether or not they would support Mr. Hegseth,” said Rounds. “I don’t think that it changed any minds.”
“I have failed in things in my life and thankfully I’m redeemed by my lord and savior, Jesus Christ.”
– Defense secretary hopeful Pete Hegseth
Now in the minority in the Senate, Democrats can’t do much to stop Hegseth from being confirmed beyond complaining loudly. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) went on the Senate floor to criticize Hegseth for avoiding questions during his hearing about all of the allegations against him.
“It appears Mr. Hegseth’s strategy is to follow the five D’s of dodgeball: dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge,” Schumer said.
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“His history of excessive drinking is troubling for someone seeking to lead our military, and his reflexive defiance against the allegations regarding sexual assault undermines his credibility,” he said, referencing various claims about past alcohol use that Hegseth has pushed back on, with some alleging that he’d shown up drunk to work events while at Fox News.
“Being secretary of defense demands discipline, character, restraint. Mr. Hegseth’s history shows he is deficient in all these qualities and thus far, his hearing has not changed that,” Schumer said.