Hegseth's views on women in combat, infidelity and more — in his own words

WASHINGTON — Pete Hegseth tried to convince members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that he should be the next secretary of defense, as lawmakers peppered him with questions about his character and views on a range of military issues.

An author of several books and a former Fox News Channel host, Hegseth has been forced to defend himself against a long record of his own public comments, including in his most recent book, ''The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.''

His wide-ranging opinions could provide some insight into how he could approach the top Pentagon job if confirmed. At times, he says he's been misconstrued, but other times he's tried to soften his previously stated views on contentious topics.

Here's a look at Hegseth in his own words:

On the state of the US military

An Army veteran who rose to the rank of major and served in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hegseth, 44, says he believes that standards have declined and that efforts to expand diversity, equity and inclusion have driven white men away.

He complains in his latest book that ''woke'' generals and the leaders of the elite service academies have left the military dangerously weak and ''effeminate'' by promoting DEI. He says, ''the next commander in chief will need to clean house.''

''Turns out, all the ‘diversity' recruiting messages made certain kids — white kids — feel like they're not wanted,'' he said in his book.

If confirmed, he has said there will be no more ''social justice, politically correct approaches to how we fight and conduct wars." Instead, he said, ''this is about lethality, meritocracy, readiness.'' During his confirmation hearing, Hegseth again affirmed his commitment to focus on lethality and to eliminate wokeness.

And he has vowed to fire generals involved in ''woke'' programs.

On women in combat

Hegseth's opposition — stated in his book and interviews — was simple and direct before his nomination on Nov. 12. But, in the face of questions from Congress, he appears to have altered his stance.

''I'm straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn't made us more effective. Hasn't made us more lethal. Has made fighting more complicated,'' he said in a podcast hosted by Shawn Ryan on Nov. 7.

Women have a place in the military, he said, just not in special operations, artillery, infantry and armor units.

In his book, he said women have performed well in dangerous support roles during war, but ''women in the infantry — women in combat on purpose — is another story.'' He adds, ''women cannot physically meet the same standards as men.''

He said, "Dads push us to take risks. Moms put the training wheels on our bikes. We need moms. But not in the military, especially in combat units."

His views riled some members of Congress.

Asked about the issue on the ''Megyn Kelly Show'' in early December, Hegseth said he cares only that military standards are maintained. Women serve in combat, he said, and, ''if we have the right standard and women meet that standard, roger. Let's go.''

Questioned aggressively about his stance on women in combat by senators Tuesday, Hegseth said he supports women in the military but wants to review military standards to make sure they are not lowered to accommodate women.

He explained the change between his previous comments and his new statements by saying that ''writing a book is different than being secretary of defense.''

On infidelity and sexual assault allegations

Hegseth faced allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman he met at a conference in California in 2017. He has denied it, saying it was consensual. No charges were filed.

He has acknowledged paying a settlement to his accuser, contending he did so to head off a baseless lawsuit. ''The matter was fully investigated, and I was completely cleared,'' he said.

He also has acknowledged multiple instances of infidelity, including the California incident, which happened while he was going through a divorce with his second wife after having a child with the woman who is now his current wife, Jennifer Rauchet.

He told Kelly that going to a hotel room with someone who was not his wife ''is not OK'' and that he paid the settlement ''to protect my wife. I did it to protect my family. I did it to protect my job."

He said it was fair to call him a ''serial cheater'' but he ''truly was changed by Jen and my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ'' and is now a different man.

During his hearing on Tuesday, Hegseth declined to answer direct questions about whether sexual assault or domestic abuse would be disqualifying factors for the job as defense chief but repeated that he was wrongly accused of sexual assault.

On drinking

Senators have also expressed concerns about reports of excessive drinking.

Hegseth has denied having a drinking problem and said publicly that he told lawmakers he wouldn't drink while defense secretary.

''I'm not going to have a drink at all," he said, likening it to following the Pentagon's general order No. 1, which prohibits troops from drinking while deployed.

He said that often when service members come home from war they ''have some beers.'' But insisted in the Kelly interview that, "I've never had a drinking problem."

He told senators on Tuesday that he would not drink on the job but declined to say if he would step down if he violated that vow.

On extremism in the military

Hegseth has said the Pentagon overreacted by taking steps to address extremism and has taken leadership to task for the military's efforts to remove people it deemed white supremacists and violent extremists.

He wrote that the problem is ''fake'' and characterized it as ''peddling the lie of racism in the military.'' He said efforts to root out extremism had pushed ''rank-and-file patriots out of their formations.''

Hegseth was pulled from Washington National Guard duty during President Joe Biden's inauguration after he was flagged as a possible ''Insider Threat'' by a fellow service member due to a tattoo.

Hegseth has said it was due to a Christian cross tattoo on his chest. But the fellow Guard member, who was on an anti-terrorism team at the time, shared with The Associated Press an email he sent to the unit's leadership flagging a different tattoo on Hegseth's bicep that's associated with white supremacist groups.

On Tuesday, he said focusing on extremism has "created a climate inside our ranks that feels political when it hasn't ever been political. Those are the types of things that are going to change."

On a Pentagon chief leading in combat

Shortly after President-elect Trump announced his nomination, Hegseth posted on X, ''Maybe it's time for a @SecDef who has… Led in combat. Been on patrol for days. Pulled a trigger. Heard bullets whiz by. Called in close air support. Led medevacs. Dodged IEDs."

He said Trump told him that, ''I chose you because you're the guy that's gonna put the warfighters first. We haven't had that. We need a guy that's kicked down doors and understands the consequences of war.''

On Tuesday, Hegseth said, ''it's time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm.''

However, Trump's first defense secretary, retired Marine Gen. Jim Mattis, served in combat in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and was awarded a Bronze Star with a V for valor for serving in one of the lead assault units going into Kuwait in the first Gulf War.

Current Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, a retired Army four-star general, also commanded troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and was awarded a Silver Star, the nation's third-highest award for valor, for leading troops into Iraq during the 2003 invasion.

''I've led troops in combat in pretty significant and tough situations,'' Austin told The Associated Press. ''Even if you are a self-described ‘door kicker' or whatever you want to call it, I had run large, complex organizations before I came into this job, and I did that successfully.''

''So I think you have to have a perspective on what's happening on the ground, but you also have to have an understanding of how things fit in terms of the bigger picture,'' he said.

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Associated Press writer Tara Copp contributed to this report.