Pete Hegseth came under fire from Senators of both parties weighing his nomination to lead the Defense Department over his past comments about women serving in the military, putting the first of Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks to face a hearing on the defensive.
Hegseth has faced a series of controversies in recent weeks, including alleged womanizing, sexual misconduct, inappropriate drinking, and claims of financial mismanagement. During a contentious hearing on Tuesday, he clarified his past comments and told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he would work to eliminate “wokeness” within the military, vowing to “restore the warrior ethos to the Pentagon.”
While Hegseth tried to project confidence and clarity about his vision for the U.S. military, some of the most pointed questions came from within his own party. One skeptical Republican was Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, whose vote on the Armed Services Committee might well decide the fate of Hegseth, a 44-year-old former Fox News host and National Guard veteran. Ernst, a former Army National Guard commander and sexual assault survivor, has expressed concerns about Hegseth’s leadership experience and his past comments on women in combat.
In one exchange with Ernst, Hegseth appeared to walk back his previous stance against women serving in combat roles—a position that has already prompted backlash within and outside the military. He was pressed by Ernst and several Democratic members of the committee on those comments, which he now claims were “misconstrued.”
Hegseth wrote in his 2024 book that women are meant to be “life-givers” and shouldn’t serve in combat roles. “Dads push us to take risks. Moms put the training wheels on our bikes. We need moms. But not in the military, especially not in combat units,” he wrote. Currently, 18% of the military is composed of women. Asked by Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, a Democrat, if he thinks the two women on the committee who served in the military—Senators Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Ernst—made the military less capable, Hegseth said: “No, their contributions are indispensable. My comments are about having the same standards across the board.”
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, a Democrat on the committee, said that his comments on women were a “silly thing to say” and “beneath the position” of Secretary of Defense. “You have to change how you see women to do this job well, and I don’t know that you can,” she said. Later, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a Democrat, questioned his apparent recent change of opinion on women in combat and asked how women can be certain he won’t reverse his opinion again once confirmed. “I’ve heard of deathbed conversions, but this is the first time I’ve seen a nomination conversion,” she said.
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Hegseth can only lose a single Republican vote on the Senate Armed Services panel if all Democrats oppose him. If he makes it for a vote in the full Senate, Hegseth can afford to lose no more than three Republican votes if all Democrats vote against him. Hegseth only met with one Democrat prior to the hearing—Senator Jack Reed of Delaware, the top Democrat on the committee. Several Democrats called him out for not scheduling meetings with them.
For many on the committee, it wasn’t just Hegseth’s views on gender and military service that raised questions. Past personal allegations—including sexual assault, drinking on the job, and claims by former co-workers that he mismanaged veterans organizations he led—remained key concerns. Hegseth called those allegations a “coordinated smear campaign” and said the media was “out to destroy me…because I’m a change agent.” He previously acknowledged that he paid an undisclosed sum to a woman who had accused him of sexual assault at a Republican conference in 2017. No charges were ever filed against Hegseth in the incident. Pressed by Ernst, Hegseth said he would appoint a senior level official dedicated to sexual assault prevention in the military.
“I’m not a perfect person,” Hegseth said. “But redemption is real.”
The hearing also saw scrutiny from Democrats over Hegseth’s qualifications to lead the Pentagon, particularly given his relative lack of experience managing large, bureaucratic organizations. Reed, the top Democrat on the committee who voted in favor of Trump’s picks for Secretary of Defense in the President-elect’s first term, questioned Hegseth’s capacity to oversee the massive U.S. military apparatus. Other Democrats pointed out that his management experience pales in comparison to even mid-level civilian managers in private sector companies, let alone the head of one of the world’s largest institutions.
“I don’t think there’s a board of directors in America that would hire you as a CEO with the kind of experience you have on your resume,” said Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, a swing-state Democrat who is up for re-election and appears to be a no on Hegseth. “Do you think that the way to raise the minimum standards of the people who serve us is to lower the standards of the Secretary of Defense, that we have someone who has never managed an organization of more than 100 people?”
Reed added that he reviewed the allegations against Hegseth and concluded that the alleged conduct would “disqualify any service member from holding any leadership position in the military.”
“You lack the character and composure and competence to hold the position of your defense,” Reed said.
In response, Hegseth highlighted his military service, his leadership in the National Guard, and his work at veterans’ organizations, while also stressing his role as a critic of the military establishment and advocate for reform.
“It is true that I don’t have a similar biography to Defense Secretaries of the last 30 years,” Hegseth said in his opening statement. “But, as President Trump also told me, we’ve repeatedly placed people atop the Pentagon with supposedly ‘the right credentials’—whether they are retired generals, academics, or defense contractor executives—and where has it gotten us?”
“It’s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm,” he added. “A change agent. Someone with no vested interest in certain companies or specific programs or approved narratives.”
If confirmed, Hegseth would oversee more than 3 million military and civilian personnel around the world, the U.S. nuclear arsenal, and an annual budget of more than $800 billion. He would be expected to lead the nation’s military as the U.S. faces threats from Russia, China, Iran and adversaries around the world.
Some members of the public expressed their opposition to Hegseth’s nomination on Tuesday as well. Four people, one wearing a Vietnam veteran cap, were removed from the hearing within the first minutes of Hegseth’s opening statement. At least three were protesting Hegseth’s stance on the war in Gaza. Later, when asked by Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas to address the protestors and clarify his stance on the Israel-Hamas war, Hegseth said that he supports “Israel killing and destroying every last member of Hamas.”
Hegseth also addressed diversity and inclusion policies, arguing they “divide” troops and that the military should be putting “meritocracy first.”
Asked by Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, a Democrat on the committee, if he will use the military to take over Greenland or the Panama Canal as Trump suggested he might use the military to do in a press conference on Jan. 7, Hegseth said he would never tip his hand in a public setting on military plans.
It’s not yet clear if Hegseth will get the support of every Republican on the committee—or in the upper chamber. Some Republican senators—including Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska—have remained noncommittal on his nomination.
