Pete Hegseth is about to take the recent seat earlier than the Senate Armed Companies Committee on Tuesday in a listening to that’s positive to interrupt out into fireworks.
President-elect Donald Trump nominated Hegseth to shake up the Pentagon as his protection secretary, however the former Fox Information host has been entangled in controversies that Democrats on the committee will be anticipated to query him about.
“Democrats certainly aren’t going to make this a walk in the park by any means,” one Republican aide mentioned.
“You’ll see Democrats are pretty organized, they’re thinking strategically to make sure everything is covered, and it’s not a hearing that gets overly repetitive,” one senior Democrat aide informed Fox Information Digital.
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“I don’t think it’s going to be particularly hostile, but I do think it will be very tough. It’s going to focus a lot just on what we should expect of a nominee for this job and where he falls short,” the aide went on. “There are questions about the things he’s done, his character and his leadership.”
Hegseth would be the first of Trump’s controversial change agent picks to face questioning from lawmakers.
Republicans will be anticipated to play protection, framing Hegseth as a adorned fight veteran who will maintain the army accountable after years of failed audits and DEI initiatives.
With little hope of successful any Democrat votes, Hegseth should woo average Republicans who’ve beforehand expressed skepticism about his nomination.
Democrats are anticipated to hammer him over his previous conduct and his {qualifications} to steer the federal government’s largest company, which employs 3 million folks.
Pete Hegseth is about to take the recent seat earlier than the Senate Armed Companies Committee on Tuesday in a extensively anticipated listening to. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Pictures)
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The 44-year-old Military Nationwide Guard veteran, who did excursions in Iraq and Afghanistan, is comparatively younger and inexperienced in comparison with protection secretaries previous, having retired as a significant. However Republicans say they don’t need somebody who made it to the highest brass, who’s develop into entrenched within the Pentagon institution.
Hegseth is certain to face questions on a sexual assault accusation from 2017. He’s acknowledged paying his accuser an undisclosed sum to maintain quiet on the time for concern of shedding his job, however he denies any non-consensual intercourse occurred.
Former workers at veterans’ teams Hegseth used to run have accused him of monetary mismanagement and extreme ingesting, in accordance with a New Yorker report, and NBC Information reported that his ingesting “concerned” colleagues at Fox Information.
Hegseth denies the accusations and mentioned he wouldn’t drink “a drop of alcohol” if confirmed to steer the Protection Division.
The listening to, which kicks off at 9:30 a.m., will likely be full of veterans who traveled to Washington, D.C., to assist Hegseth within the face of assaults.
For weeks, Hegseth has been visiting Capitol Hill to fulfill with senators, together with those that are skeptical of him. Final Wednesday, he met with the highest Armed Companies Committee Democrat, Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, and the assembly apparently didn’t go properly.
“Today’s meeting did not relieve my concerns about Mr. Hegseth’s lack of qualifications and raised more questions than answers,” Reed mentioned in a press release.
Hegseth retired from the Military Nationwide Guard in 2021. (Fox Information)
Hegseth should first win a majority in a vote of the Armed Companies Committee, made up of 14 Republicans and 13 Democrats, which means one Republican defection may tank the vote.
He then must win a easy majority on the Senate ground, which means he can afford to lose not more than three Republican votes.
“I think he kind of knows that all he needs is Republican votes to get from now into the job,” mentioned a Democrat aide. “His job is to just keep his head down and not say something that would create an opening for these [Republicans], many of whom I really don’t think want to vote for him, to have a reason to revisit that. So I expect that he’s going to try to say very little and say it very calmly and politely.”
In committee, all eyes will likely be on Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, a veteran herself who at first appeared hesitant about Hegseth. After two conferences with the nominee, Ernst mentioned she would assist him via the affirmation course of and regarded ahead to a good listening to. She didn’t decide to voting for him.
Senators will even take a fine-toothed comb to Hegseth’s prolonged document of public feedback on TV and throughout the 5 books he’s written.
One such perception is that ladies shouldn’t combat in fight 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 in his most up-to-date ebook, “The War on Warriors,” revealed in 2024.
Hegseth has been courting votes on Capitol Hill for weeks. (AP Picture/J. Scott Applewhite)
“Men are, gasp, biologically stronger, faster and bigger. Dare I say, physically superior,” Hegseth added.
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On a Nov. 7 episode of the Shawn Ryan podcast, which aired mere days earlier than Hegseth was tapped to function Protection Secretary, the nominee mentioned, “I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles.”
Hegseth later informed Fox Information in December that ladies are a number of the U.S.’ “greatest warriors.”
“I also want an opportunity here to clarify comments that have been misconstrued, that I somehow don’t support women in the military; some of our greatest warriors, our best warriors out there are women,” he mentioned.
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Feminine service members “love our nation, want to defend that flag, and they do it every single day around the globe. I’m not presuming anything,” he added.
