Pete Hegseth casts himself as change agent in defense secretary confirmation hearing

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Pete Hegseth, the Forest Lake native who is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, pitched himself to U.S. senators on the Armed Services Committee Tuesday as a change agent who would restore what he called a “warrior culture” to the Pentagon.

Republicans on the panel welcomed his pitch to shake up the Pentagon as an “unconventional” defense secretary nominee, as the committee chair, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., described him. But Democrats remained skeptical of his ability to lead a department that employs 3.4 million service members and civil servants and operates an annual defense budget of $840 billion.

Democrats took turns digging into his past remarks that women should not serve in combat and allegations he mismanaged a veterans group he once led, drank excessively and sexually assaulted a woman.

“When President Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense,” Hegseth said. “He, like me, wants a Pentagon laser focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards and readiness. That’s it. That is my job.”

Hegseth spoke before supporters, some wearing “For Hegseth” hats, but also struggled to get through his opening statement as Capitol Police ushered out protesters for disrupting his remarks.

At Hegseth’s side during what was likely to be the only hearing on Hegseth’s nomination was former Sen. Norm Coleman, the last Republican senator from Minnesota, who Hegseth called a friend and mentor.

Coleman, who has been helping guide Hegseth through the confirmation process, introduced him as a “son of Minnesota,” and an “out of the box nominee” who could bring a new approach to leading the department.

“Pete was a brave soldier, has been an able communicator, and I believe is about to begin a great second act as our Secretary of Defense. He has struggled and he has overcome great personal challenges. Please don’t give in to the cynical notion that people can’t change,” Coleman continued.

Despite Coleman’s pitch, Democrats made their long list of concerns known. Prior to the hearing, Hegseth met privately with all Republicans on the committee but only one committee Democrat: ranking member Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who said Tuesday: “I do not believe that you are qualified to meet the overwhelming demands of this job.”

For the rest of the Democrats on the committee, it was their first chance to question Hegseth.

Since he was nominated to the role, Hegseth has doubled down on his support for women in the military. But Democrats said Hegseth’s newfound support came too late.

“Why should women in our military, if you were the secretary of Defense, believe that they would have a fair shot and an equal opportunity to rise through the ranks?” asked Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. “On the one hand, you say that women are not competent, they make our military less effective, and on the other hand, you say, ‘Oh no, now that I’ve been nominated to be the secretary of defense, I’ve changed my view on women in the military.’”

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, a fellow combat veteran, joined Democrats in asking about Hegseth’s view on women in the military. She asked the nominee if he would support women continuing to serve in combat roles.

“Yes. Women will have access to ground combat roles given the standards remain high,” Hegseth told Ernst. “We’ll have a review to ensure the standards have not been eroded in any one of these cases.”

If confirmed, Hegseth also vowed to appoint a senior level official dedicated to sexual assault prevention and response.

One of the most tense exchanges was with Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who pressed him on the sexual assault allegations. Hegseth said he was “falsely charged,” and that the matter was “fully investigated” and he was “completely cleared.”

Kaine grilled him on whether the assault in question occurred when he was married to his second wife and had just fathered a child with his third wife.

“You acknowledge that you cheated on your wife, and that you cheated on the woman by whom you had just fathered a child?” Kaine asked.

Hegseth didn’t directly respond but eventually answered, “I will allow your words to speak for themself.”

Some Democrats tested him on his foreign policy knowledge. Illinois Democrat Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a combat veteran, slammed Hegseth for his inability to name one of the countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), an organization that works with the United States on economic and security issues in that part of the world.

“I suggest you do a little homework before you prepare for these types of negotiations,” Duckworth said.

As Democrats sharply questioned Hegseth, Republicans on the committee largely came to his defense.

“Thank you, Mr. Hegseth, for your service, for your willingness to endure this,” Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said following Kaine’s questions.

“You’ve conducted yourself very well today,” said Sen, Jim Banks, R-Ind. “So well, that I believe it’s incumbent upon this committee to confirm you ASAP to get you on the job and clean up the mess that we have at the Pentagon.”

Democrats want to see what’s inside Hegseth’s FBI background report, which only the committee chair and ranking member are briefed on before the hearing.

But Reed called the FBI background investigation “insufficient,” asking the committee chair if the full committee could see it. Wicker denied Reed’s request, citing precedent, along with a request for senators to ask Hegseth a second round of questions.

A simple majority of Senate Armed Services Committee members are needed to approve Hegseth’s nomination before it can go to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. Republicans’ majority on the panel gives him an edge.

If Hegseth makes it out of the committee, it would take only four Republican senators voting against him in the full Senate to sink his confirmation. Not all Senate Republicans have said how they will vote.

Following the hearing, Sen. Tina Smith’s office said she plans to meet with Hegseth next week as early as Tuesday. The Minnesota Democrat is undecided on his nomination. A spokesperson for Sen. Amy Klobuchar also said the senior senator plans to meet with Hegseth in the “near future.”

Three of Minnesota’s four Republicans in Congress said they support Hegseth. The exception is Rep. Brad Finstad, Minnesota’s only member on the House Armed Services Committee. Finstad has repeatedly avoided weighing in on Hegseth and has not said anything publicly about him.