Senators grill Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s choice for Pentagon chief

Donald Trump’s choice for defence secretary has vowed to foster a “warrior culture” at the Pentagon and confronted allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking and questions about his derisive views of women in combat during a heated Senate confirmation hearing.

Pete Hegseth repeatedly deflected the various misconduct allegations and instead focused on his own combat experience in the Army National Guard as senators determine whether the combat veteran and former TV news show host is fit to lead the US military.

“It’s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm. A change agent,” Mr Hegseth said in his opening remarks.

Asked directly about the sexual assault allegation, Mr Hegseth dismissed it as a “smear campaign”, as he did in response to a rapid-fire series of questions about his personal behaviour and complaints of drinking on the job.

He has vowed not to drink alcohol if he is confirmed to lead the Pentagon.

But pressed about his marital infidelity, Mr Hegseth acknowledged: “I am not a perfect person.”

Senators spent hours probing the concerns surrounding Mr Hegseth, with the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee acknowledging the “unconventional” choice.

But Senator Roger Wicker compared Mr Hegseth to Mr Trump himself, and said he will “bring energy and fresh ideas to shake up the bureaucracy”.

The top Democrat, Senator Jack Reed, however, called the allegations “extremely alarming” and said flatly: “I do not believe that you are qualified to meet the overwhelming demands of this job.”

Mr Hegseth, 44, comes from a new generation of veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and his military experience is widely viewed as an asset.

But he also brings a jarring record of past actions and statements, including about women, minorities and “woke” generals.

Mr Hegseth also does not have the credentials typical of a defence secretary, raising questions about his ability to manage an organisation with nearly 2.1 million service members, about 780,000 civilians and a budget of roughly 850 billion dollars.

The more than four-hour hearing launched a week-long marathon as the Republican-led Senate is rushing to have some of Mr Trump’s nominees ready to be confirmed as soon as Inauguration Day, January 20.

With a narrow Republican majority, almost all Republicans must support Mr Trump’s pick if Democrats oppose.

Mr Hegseth faces perhaps the most difficult path to confirmation, but Republican allies are determined to turn him into a cause celebre for Mr 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 Mr 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.

Mr Hegseth was combative at times, as he was forced to confront the allegations of misconduct and his own comments that are far from the military mainstream.

Pressed on his opposition to diversity initiatives, Mr 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 do not prioritise “meritocracy”.

In a striking scene, several female Democratic senators grilled Mr Hegseth over his comments that women should “straight up” not be in combat roles, a view he has softened since his nomination.

Senator Jeanne Shaheen noted the switch, asking: “Which is it?”

In one fiery exchange, Senator Kristen Gillibrand told Mr Hegseth: “You will have to change how you see women to do this job.”

And Senator Tammy Duckworth, who lost both legs when the Blackhawk helicopter she was piloting was shot down, displayed the Soldier’s Creed she said hung at her hospital bed and by which all army service members are expected to live.

She told the nominee the troops “cannot be led by someone who is not competent”.

Many senators have not yet met with Mr Hegseth and most do not have access to his FBI background check, as only committee leaders were briefed on its findings.

Mr Reed called the background check “insufficient”.

Senator Richard Blumenthal asked Mr Hegseth if he would agree to a fuller FBI review, but he demurred, saying it was not up to him.

The Trump transition would need to request it.

Republican senators took turns shoring up the nominee, with Senator Markewayne Mullin saying “we’ve all made mistakes”, and coaxing Mr Hegseth to say something nice about his wife and children.

Senator Eric Schmitt called Mr Hegseth a “breath of fresh air”, after he spoke about the need to tear diversity and critical race initiatives “root and branch from institutions”.

And when Republican Senator Joni Ernst, a military veteran and sexual assault survivor, questioned Mr Hegseth, he told her it would be the “privilege of a lifetime” to be the defence secretary for men, and women, in uniform.

Mr Hegseth was largely unknown on Capitol Hill when Mr Trump tapped him for the top Pentagon job.

A former 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.

Mr Hegseth 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 Mr Hegseth sexually assaulted her, according to a detailed investigative report recently made public.

Mr Hegseth has denied any 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 head off a potential lawsuit.

If confirmed, Mr 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.

The secretary is responsible for tens of thousands of US troops deployed overseas and at sea, including in combat zones.

They make all final recommendations to the president on which units are deployed, where they go and how long they stay.

Pentagon chiefs also routinely travel across the world, meeting with international leaders on a vast range of security issues, and play a key role at Nato as a critical partner to allies across the region.