WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for Defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, vowed Tuesday to foster a “warrior culture” at the Pentagon and confronted allegations of his misconduct during a testy Senate confirmation hearing that drew an outburst of protest but also veterans supporting the pick.
Hegesth did not initially address the allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking against him as senators determine whether the TV news show host and veteran is fit to lead the U.S. military. Instead, he tried to focus on his combat experience in the Army National Guard.
“It’s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm. A change agent,” Hegseth said in opening remarks.
Asked directly about the sexual assault allegation, Hegseth dismissed it as a “smear campaign.” But pressed about his personal behavior and marital infidelity Hegseth acknowledged, “I am not a perfect person.”
Senators spent hours drilling down on the questions surrounding Hegseth, with the Republican chairman of the Armed Services Committee acknowledging the “unconventional” choice and the top Democrat warning of “extremely alarming” allegations against Hegseth.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the chairman, compared Hegseth to Trump himself, dismissed the various allegations against him as unfounded and said he will “bring energy and fresh ideas to shake up the bureaucracy.”
But Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) said flatly: “I do not believe that you are qualified to meet the overwhelming demands of this job.”
Hegseth, 44, comes from a new generation of veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and his military experience is viewed as an asset. But he also brings a jarring record of past statements and actions, including allegations of sexual assault, excessive drinking and derisive views about women in military combat roles, minorities and “woke” generals. He has said he would not drink alcohol if he is confirmed to lead the Pentagon.
Trump backed his pick, saying Hegseth has “my Complete and Total support” in a morning social media post wishing the nominee “good luck.”
The hearing launched a weeklong marathon as senators begin scrutinizing Trump’s choices for more than a dozen top administrative positions.
Hegseth faces perhaps the most difficult path to confirmation, but GOP allies are determined to turn him into a cause célèbre for Trump’s governing approach amid the nation’s culture wars. Outside groups, including those aligned with the Heritage Foundation, are running costly campaigns to prop up Hegseth’s bid.
In the audience were cadres of men wearing clothing expressing support for veterans or service in the military, but also protesters who momentarily disrupted proceedings but were removed from the room.
Hegseth was combative at times, forced to confront the allegations of sexual assault, which he has denied, and his own comments that are far from the military mainstream. He wore an American flag pocket square in his suit coat, and said his military experience was not academic but his life.
Pressed on his opposition to diversity initiatives in the military and women serving in combat roles, Hegseth agreed that the military “was a forerunner in courageous racial integration.” But he argued that modern diversity and inclusion policies “divide” current troops and don’t prioritize “meritocracy.”
Hegseth was grilled over his comments that women should “straight up” not be in combat roles, a view he has appeared to soften following recent meetings with senators.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) noted the switch, asking, “Which is it?”
In one fiery exchange, Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) told Hegseth: “You will have to change how you see women to do this job.”
Combat veteran and Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois also grilled him.
“He can try to walk back his comments on women in combat all he wants, but we know what he thinks, right?” said Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran who lost her legs and partial use of her right arm when the Black Hawk helicopter she was piloting was shot down. “He’s the most unqualified person to ever be nominated for secretary of Defense.”
But Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), also a military veteran and a sexual assault survivor, was far less combative as Hegseth told her it would be a “privilege of a lifetime” to serve the men, and women, in uniform.
Many senators have not yet met with Hegseth and most do not have access to the results of his FBI background check, as only committee leaders were briefed on its findings. Reed said the background check was “insufficient.” It did not probe or produce new information beyond what’s already in the public realm about him, according to a person familiar with the situation who requested anonymity to discuss it.
The Republican-led Senate is rushing to have some of Trump’s picks ready to be confirmed as soon as inauguration day, Jan. 20, despite potential opposition to some from both sides of the aisle. With a narrow GOP majority, they need almost all Republicans to support Trump’s pick if Democrats oppose.
Hegseth was largely unknown on Capitol Hill when Trump tapped him for the top Pentagon job.
A co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend,” he had been a contributor with the network since 2014 and apparently caught the eye of the president-elect, who is an avid consumer of television and the news channel, in particular.
Hegseth, 44, attended Princeton University and served in the Army National Guard from 2002 to 2021, deploying to Iraq in 2005 and Afghanistan in 2011 and earning two Bronze Stars. But he lacks senior military and national security experience.
In 2017, a woman told police that Hegseth sexually assaulted her, according to a detailed investigative report recently made public. Hegseth has denied any wrongdoing and told police at the time that the encounter at an event for Republican women in California was consensual. He later paid the woman a confidential settlement to head off a potential lawsuit.
North Dakota Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer asked about Hegseth’s tattoos, which have come under question for their association with white nationalist groups. However, Cramer did not focus on the “Deus Vult” tattoo that got Hegseth flagged as a potential “insider threat.”
Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) asked Hegseth if he’d follow orders from Trump to shoot protesters, invade Greenland, which is controlled by NATO ally Denmark, or occupy the Panama Canal, to which Hegseth cited a need for strategic ambiguity in declining to fully answer.
And Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) questioned his lack of management experience, saying he has “real problems” with Hegseth’s ability to take on a large organization like the military.
If confirmed, Hegseth would take over a military juggling an array of crises on the global stage and domestic challenges in military recruitment, retention and ongoing funding.
Besides being a key national security advisor to the president, the Defense secretary oversees a massive organization, with nearly 2.1 million service members, about 780,000 civilians and a budget of roughly $850 billion.
The secretary is responsible for tens of thousands of U.S. troops deployed overseas and at sea, including in combat zones where they face attacks, such as in Syria and Iraq and in the waters around Yemen. The secretary makes all final recommendations to the president on what units are deployed, where they go and how long they stay.
The secretary’s main job is to make sure the U.S. military is ready, trained and equipped to meet any call to duty. But the secretary also must ensure that American troops are safe and secure at home, with proper housing, healthcare, pay and support for programs dealing with issues like suicide, sexual assault and financial scams.
Pentagon chiefs also routinely travel across the world to meet with international leaders on a vast range of security issues including U.S. military aid, counterterrorism support, troop presence and global coalition building. And they play a key role at NATO as a critical partner to allies across the region.
Mascaro, Copp and Brown write for the Associated Press. AP writers Lolita C. Baldor and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.