Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Defence Secretary, defended his qualifications and vision during a contentious Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday.
Hegseth emphasised his commitment to strengthening military readiness, discipline, and a “warrior ethos,” drawing on his experience as an Army National Guard veteran to outline plans for cultural reform within the Pentagon.
However, the hearing soon became combative as senators pressed him on past allegations of misconduct and challenged his suitability for the high-profile role.
Key highlights from the hearing
Here’s how Hegseth defended his position in hopes of getting confirmed as Trump’s Defence Secretary
- On allegations of sexual misconduct
Hegseth faced intense scrutiny over past allegations of sexual misconduct Senator Tim Kaine questioned Hegseth’s character, saying “Can you so casually cheat on a second wife and cheat on the mother of a child two months before? How is that completely cleared?” In response, Hegseth insisted “I have been falsely charged — completely, fully investigated, and completely cleared.”
Senator Mark Kelly brought up instances of alleged misconduct during Hegseth’s leadership of Concerned Veterans of America, stating “On Memorial Day 2014 at a CVA event in Virginia, you needed to be carried out of the event for being intoxicated. To this, Hegseth repeatedly responded “Anonymous smears.” Senator Mazie Hirono pressed Hegseth on whether he would resign if he broke his pledge to abstain from alcohol. Hegseth replied, “I have made the commitment not to drink.”
Hegseth’s past comments on women in combat were a focal point during the hearing. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand asked him to clarify his position on women serving in combat roles. Hegseth responded “I respect every female service member that has put on the uniform, past and present. My critiques… have been instances where I’ve seen standards lowered.”
- Military leadership and wokeness
Senator Kevin Cramer encouraged Hegseth to give military leadership a chance under new leadership, despite discussions about firing “woke” generals. In response, Hegseth said, “When Donald Trump is sworn in, he will issue a new set of lawful orders, and the leadership of our services will have an opportunity to follow those lawful orders or not.” “In Donald Trump’s Pentagon, there will be real standards for success,” he added.
- Jerusalem Cross tattoo controversy
Senator Kevin Cramer questioned Hegseth about his Jerusalem Cross tattoo, which critics have labelled an extremist. Hegseth defended it as a “historic Christian symbol.” He expressed frustration at being “identified as an extremist” because of the tattoo. “I had orders to come to Washington, D.C. to guard the inauguration,” Hegseth explained, recounting how his orders were suddenly revoked. “I had never had orders revoked before. I’ve been on orders to a lot of places, to do a lot of difficult and dangerous things.”
Senator Jack Reed asked Hegseth to explain the term “jagoff,” a reference from his 2024 book The War on Warriors. Hegseth initially resisted defining the slang but ultimately said, “It’s a JAG officer who puts his or her priorities ahead of warfighters, their promotions, their medals, instead of supporting those on the front lines.”
