WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces a potentially explosive confirmation hearing Tuesday as senators question whether the former combat veteran and TV news show host is fit to lead the U.S. military. to lead.
Hegseth’s previous experience in the Army National Guard is widely seen as an asset to his position, but he also brings with him a shocking record of past statements and actions, including allegations of sexual assault, excessive drinking and derisive views of women in military combat roles, minorities and ‘woke’ generals. He has vowed not to drink alcohol if he is confirmed to lead the Pentagon.
He is one of Trump’s most endangered Cabinet picks, but Republican allies are determined to make Hegseth a cause célèbre for Trump’s governing approach amid the country’s culture wars. Outside groups, including those linked to the Heritage Foundation, are waging costly campaigns to support Hegseth’s bid.
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“He will be torn, he will be humiliated. He will be talked about,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., at an event with former Navy SEALs, Army special forces and Marines supporting the nominee. “But we’re going to get him across the finish line.”
The hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee kicks off a weeklong marathon as senators begin examining Trump’s picks for more than a dozen top administration jobs. The Republican-led Senate is rushing to have some of Trump’s picks ready for confirmation as soon as Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, happens, despite possible opposition from some on both sides of the aisle.
“We’re going to grind them down,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Fox News.
Hegseth faces perhaps the most difficult road to confirmation. He will be forced to confront allegations of sexual assault, which he has denied, and his own comments that are far removed from the military mainstream, although he has the support of some veterans groups who say his past indiscretions are not are as important as his focus. on improving military readiness to fight.
And Hegseth will have to answer for his comments that women “upright” should not serve in combat roles in the military, a view he has softened after recent meetings with senators. Two former female combat veterans, Republican Joni Ernst of Iowa and Democrat Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, are among those who snubbed him from the stage.
“He can try to walk back his comments about women in combat all he wants, but we know what he’s thinking, right?” said Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran who lost her legs and partial use of her right arm when the Black Hawk helicopter she piloted in the Army National Guard was shot down. “He is the most unqualified person ever nominated for the office of Secretary of Defense.”
Many senators have not yet met Hegseth and most do not have access to his FBI background check because only committee leaders are briefed on the findings. The background check on Hegseth did not appear to investigate or yield any new information beyond what is already known about him in the public domain, according to a person familiar with the situation who was granted anonymity to discuss it.
In many ways, the Hegseth hearing is expected to follow the model set during Trump’s first term, when one of his Supreme Court Justice picks, Brett Kavanaugh, came under intense scrutiny over sexual assault allegations through his teens, but earned his payback by gaining confirmation to the Supreme Court.
Kavanaugh fought back vigorously during a volcanic hearing in 2018, portraying the sexual assault allegations against him as a smear by liberal lawmakers and outside groups opposed to his legal record, turning the tables in a way he said many senators sets a new benchmark for partisanship.
Asked for advice for Hegseth, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, pointed to that earlier example.
“Go back and watch the videos of the Kavanaugh hearings – give you a taste,” he said.
Hegseth was largely unknown on Capitol Hill when Trump tapped him for the top Pentagon job.
As co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend,” he has been a contributor to the network since 2014, apparently catching the attention of the newly elected president, who is an avid consumer of television and the news channel, in particular.
Hegseth, 44, attended Princeton 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 had sexually assaulted her, according to a detailed investigative report recently made public. Hegseth has denied all wrongdoing and told police at the time that the encounter at a Republican women’s event in California was consensual. He later paid the woman a confidential settlement to avoid a possible lawsuit.
Hegseth also came under scrutiny for reports of excessive drinking while working at a veterans organization. But when he met privately with Republican Party senators ahead of the hearing, he promised he would not drink if confirmed to the post.
If confirmed, Hegseth would take over an Army dealing with a series of crises on the world stage and domestic challenges in military recruitment, retention and ongoing funding.
The Secretary of Defense is not only a key national security adviser to the president, but also oversees a vast organization, with nearly 2.1 million military personnel, about 780,000 civilians and a budget of roughly $850 billion.
He is responsible for tens of thousands of American 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 about which units will be deployed, where they will go, and how long they will stay.
His primary role is to ensure that the U.S. military is ready, trained and equipped to meet any duty. But the secretary must also ensure that American troops are safe at home, with good housing, health care, wages and support for programs that address suicide, sexual assault and financial fraud.
Pentagon chiefs also routinely travel the world to meet with international leaders on a wide range of security issues, including U.S. military assistance, counterterrorism support, troop presence and global coalition building. And they play a key role in NATO as a crucial partner for allies across the region.
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Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
