Pete Hegseth was met with a friendly reception by Senate Republicans at his hearing Tuesday before the Armed Services Committee, who signaled they would get behind Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s embattled nominee to be defense secretary.
Hegseth came into the hearing with a cloud of controversies hanging over his nomination. But after he was questioned for more than four hours, Republicans came away feeling optimistic that Hegseth, a former Fox News host and Army combat veteran, would be confirmed to lead the Pentagon.
“He comported himself extremely well and made a strong argument for why he ought to be the next secretary of defense,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., adding he will “work quickly” to get Hegseth confirmed.
Here are a few takeaways from the hearing.
Joni Ernst doesn't rock the boat: As a combat veteran and sexual assault survivor, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, has long been seen as a linchpin of Hegseth’s path to 50 votes, as she has expressed concerns about him previously. On Tuesday, she did little to challenge him.
She began by noting their “very productive” and “very frank” conversations and submitted a letter from a Hegseth supporter into the record. She asked whether women should have “the opportunity to serve in combat roles,” to which Hegseth replied in the affirmative, “exactly the way you caveated it.” She asked whether he would appoint a senior official dedicated to sexual assault prevention, to which he noted that he had already promised that to her: “As we have discussed, yes, I will,” he said.
Ernst, who faces re-election in 2026, has come under heavy pressure from Trump allies to get behind Hegseth. Lately, she hasn’t shown much of an appetite to buck Trump.
Culture war rhetoric dominates: Throughout the hearing, Hegseth repeatedly lavished praise on Trump and criticized President Joe Biden’s administration, channeling the language of the MAGA movement.
He inveighed against “left-wing woke universities” and attacked the “left-wing media in America,” calling himself the victim of a “smear campaign.”
Democrats press about women in combat: Of all the controversies Hegseth faces, Democrats seemed most eager to take aim at his past remarks that women shouldn’t serve in combat roles.
“You can’t seem to grasp that there is no U.S. military as we know it without the incredible women that we serve, women who earn their place in their units,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who lost her legs serving in combat after her helicopter was shot down in Iraq. “You have not earned your place as secretary of defense.”
Hegseth has softened his opposition to women serving in the military. He said his views, “recently and in the past, and from personal experience,” have been based on “instances where I’ve seen standards lowered.”
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Haake's Take: Democratic senators largely struggled to elevate Hegseth's personal liabilities into the kind of wound that can end a Cabinet bid.
More than two hours into the hearing, Virginia's Tim Kaine, who has a reputation as a genial guy, was the only lawmaker to persistently pursue answers from Hegseth about a 2017 sexual assault allegation and admitted adultery undergirding it in a manner than might unnerve fence-sitting GOP senators. Asides into tax returns related to previous roles or Hegseth's understanding of the global issues the next SecDef will face lacked depth.
— Garrett Haake
