<a class="post__byline-name-unhyphenated" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/mary-clare-jalonick-associated-press" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person" itemprop="author"> <span itemprop="name">Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press</span> </a> <a class="post__byline-name-hyphenated" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/mary-clare-jalonick-associated-press"> Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press </a> <br> <a class="post__byline-name-unhyphenated" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/lolita-baldor-associated-press" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person" itemprop="author"> <span itemprop="name">Lolita Baldor, Associated Press</span> </a> <a class="post__byline-name-hyphenated" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/lolita-baldor-associated-press"> Lolita Baldor, Associated Press </a> <br>Leave your feedback<br>WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Defense secretary <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-pete-hegseth-testifies-at-senate-confirmation-hearing-for-defense-secretary">publicly faced senators for the first time</a> after weeks of questions from Democrats — and praise from Republicans — about his “unconventional” resume.<br><a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/live-blog-fact-checking-trump-cabinet-confirmation-hearings"><strong>LIVE BLOG:</strong> Fact-checking Trump Cabinet confirmation hearings</a><br>Pete Hegseth, a former combat veteran and TV news show host, says he will be a “change agent” and a “warrior” for the department as Republicans demand new and strong leadership in the Pentagon. Democrats say Hegseth’s lack of experience, his past comments about women and Black troops and allegations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct, make him unfit to serve.<br><iframe title="WATCH: Hegseth describes himself as a ‘change agent’ for the military" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4gWp6AWUasQ?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe><br>Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., called Hegseth’s nomination to lead the Defense Department “unconventional” but compared him to Trump, and said that may just be what makes him an “excellent choice.”<br><iframe title="WATCH: Sen. Wicker makes opening statement in Hegseth confirmation hearing" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7yJeXIzVStk?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe><br>Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Hegseth lacks “the character and the competence” to lead the Pentagon. Reed he has voted to confirm the nine previous Defense secretaries, including in Trump’s first term, but will not support Hegseth.<br><iframe title="WATCH: 'I do not believe you are qualified,' Sen. Reed tells Defense nominee Hegseth" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VkgBVR6WV_w?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe><br>His confirmation would be an “an insult to the men and women who have sworn to uphold their own apolitical duty to the Constitution,” Reed said.<br>Here are some takeaways from Hegseth’s confirmation hearing.<br>Hegseth told senators that Trump’s primary charge to him was “to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense” and that “he wants a Pentagon laser focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness. That’s it. That is my job.”<br>Republicans have criticized President Joe Biden’s Pentagon for encouraging diversity and say there is no place for “woke” culture in the military.<br><iframe title="WATCH: Sen. Sullivan questions Hegseth about 'woke military' at confirmation hearing" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VMPHYtQSvK4?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe><br>Reed said he wants Hegseth to explain why diversity makes the military weak and “how you propose to ‘undo’ that without undermining military leadership and harming readiness, recruitment, and retention.”<br><iframe title="WATCH: Sen. Reed presses Hegseth about emails threatening military personnel" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GzGbDT0iqoY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe><br>“Our military is more diverse than it has ever been, but more importantly, it is more lethal than it has ever been,” Reed said. “This is not a coincidence.”<br>Hegseth replied that it was “precisely right the military was a forerunner in courageous racial integration in ways no other institutions were willing to do” but argued that modern diversity and inclusion policies “divide” current troops and didn’t prioritize “meritocracy.”<br>Republicans have praised Hegseth’s lack of a high-level leadership role. “It’s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm,” he said.<br>Hegseth would not be the first defense secretary to have served in combat — far from it. An array of previous secretaries have had combat service, dodging bombs and leading troops into the fight, including current Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who was a leader in the initial invasion into Iraq.<br>Lt. Col. Jim Mattis, Trump’s first Defense secretary, fought in the Gulf War and later retired as a four-star general. And Trump’s final acting Pentagon chief, Chris Miller, served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as an Army special forces officer. He later retired as a colonel.<br>Chuck Hagel, who served under former President Barack Obama, was first former enlisted soldier to become Defense secretary, and he served as a sergeant on the front lines in Vietnam.<br>Hegseth made overtures to women and Black troops, an attempt to blunt some of the criticism of his previous comments that women should “straight up” not serve in combat and his suggestions that some Black troops may not be qualified.<br>“It would be the privilege of a lifetime, if confirmed, to be the secretary of defense for all men and women in uniform,” Hegseth said.<br>At the same time, he implied that the Pentagon has lowered standards for women to fight without giving examples of those standards. “The standards need to be the same and they need to be high,” Hegseth said, adding that where those standards have been eroded to meet diversity quotas, that should be under review.<br>New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat, told Hegseth that his quotes about women are “terrible” and harmful to morale.<br><iframe title="WATCH: Sen. Gillibrand grills Hegseth on his statements about women in the military" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lloLwcfZrow?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe><br>“You will have to change how you see women to do this job,” she said.<br>In response to Hegseth’s repeated comments, a senior defense official said that “the standards for military service have not been lowered,” and that the standards are based on each field and based on ability, not gender.<br>He was also questioned about the issue by Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, an Iraq veteran and a survivor of sexual assault. Hegseth reiterated an earlier promise to Ernst that he will to hire a senior official to prioritize those cases in the military.<br><iframe title="WATCH: Sen. Ernst questions defense secretary nominee Hegseth at confirmation hearing" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E1nXpiCQ4DU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe><br>Hegseth did not directly address the allegations of sexual misconduct and aggressively pushed back on Democrats who asked questions about it, calling it a “coordinated smear campaign.”<br>“I’m not a perfect person but redemption is real,” Hegseth said.<br><iframe title="WATCH: Sen. Kaine questions Hegseth about infidelity and assault allegation in hearing" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jE8XEbjDbtg?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe><br>In 2017, a woman told police that Hegseth sexually assaulted her, according to a detailed investigative report recently made public. 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 was not charged, but paid the woman a confidential settlement to head off a potential lawsuit.<br>Asked by Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Democrat, if he had entered into a settlement, Hegseth replied that he was falsely accused. He has said repeatedly that he was “completely cleared.”<br><iframe title="WATCH: Hirono asks Hegseth whether he'd follow unlawful orders from Trump" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9QIKx2Q5STc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe><br>Hirono also asked him about reports of excessive drinking, which he has also denied. Hegseth has told Republican senators in meetings over the last month that he will not drink on the job.<br><em>Associated Press writers Matt Brown, Tara Copp and and Lisa Mascaro contributed reporting.</em><br> <svg class="svg"><use xlink:href="#arrow-left"></use></svg><span>Left:</span> Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of defense, testifies before a Senate Committee on Armed Services confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, January 14, 2025. Photo by Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters <br><span>By</span> Kenichi Serino<br><span>By</span> Lisa Mascaro, Tara Copp, Associated Press<br><span>By</span> Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press<br><span>By</span> Linley Sanders, Meg Kinnard, Associated Press<br> <a class="post__byline-name-unhyphenated" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/mary-clare-jalonick-associated-press" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person" itemprop="author"> <span itemprop="name">Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press</span> </a> <a class="post__byline-name-hyphenated" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/mary-clare-jalonick-associated-press"> Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press </a> <br> <a class="post__byline-name-unhyphenated" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/lolita-baldor-associated-press" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person" itemprop="author"> <span itemprop="name">Lolita Baldor, Associated Press</span> </a> <a class="post__byline-name-hyphenated" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/lolita-baldor-associated-press"> Lolita Baldor, Associated Press </a> <br> <span>Support Provided By:</span> <a href="https://help.pbs.org/support/solutions/articles/5000677869" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Learn more</a> <br>Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else.<br>Thank you. 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