OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
6:03 PM – Tuesday, January 14, 2025
During a confirmation hearing on Tuesday in Washington, D.C., Senate Armed Services Committee members interrogated Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Pentagon.
The 44-year-old former Army veteran and Fox News host retaliated against “anonymous smears” as lawmakers questioned him on a number of allegations, such as reports of heavy drinking and other “misbehavior.”
Throughout the session, the Army veteran nominee for secretary of defense, who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, defended himself against the “false charges,” accusing the left-wing mainstream media of a “coordinated smear campaign” since his nomination in November.
From 2004 to 2005, the Princeton graduate served with the 101st Airborne Division at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. Later, from 2005 to 2006, he served as an officer volunteer in Iraq, where he received the Bronze Star medal for his combat service. In 2012, he again offered to go on another tour to teach Afghan security personnel.
Hegseth argued that the time had come to “give someone with dust on his boots the helm” at the Pentagon in his opening address.
During the session, Hegseth also blasted Democrat leaders, accusing them of “anti-Christian bigotry” for defaming a Catholic tattoo of the Jerusalem Cross that he wears on his chest. Ironically, it’s also the same cross symbol that was printed on the front page of former Democrat President Jimmy Carter’s funeral program.
Hegseth explained that due to the ink, he was told to step down from his assignment as one of numerous National Guard personnel assigned to President Biden’s inauguration in 2021, which confused many social media users since President Biden claims to be Catholic.
If confirmed, the Defense Secretary-designee will serve at “the most dangerous” period since World War II, according to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker.
“If confirmed, Mr. Pete Hegseth would assume the role in a moment of consequence,” Wicker (R-Miss.) said in his opening remarks.
“The United States faces the most dangerous security environment since World War II,” he added, pointing to an “axis of aggressors”—including “China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.”
Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, quickly chimed in to express his disapproval of Hegseth.
“The secretary is responsible for leading a department of three and a half million service members and civilians, an annual budget of nearly $900 billion, and hundreds of thousands of aircraft, ships, submarines, combat vehicles, satellites and the nuclear arsenal,” Reed said.
“Mr. Hegseth, I do not believe that you are qualified to meet the demands of this job,” he added.
“You lack the character, composure, and competence to hold the position of secretary of defense.”
Reed continued his introductory remarks by describing accusations against Hegseth, calling them “extremely alarming.”
According to Reed, these allegations included “disregarding the laws of war, financial mismanagement, racist and sexist remarks about men and women in uniform, alcohol abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and other troubling issues.”
“We must acknowledge the concerning public reports against you,” Reed added, citing a “variety of sources” that are all anonymous.
Hegseth was also introduced by Representative Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), who has promised that if confirmed, the nominee will “reinvigorate that warrior ethos” at the Pentagon.
“No one hates war more than those who have to go fight it,” said Waltz, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for national security adviser.
“The bottom line is, the status quo is unacceptable,” the Floridian continued. “The Pentagon has continually failed audits … innovation has stalled, morale is down, standards have been weakened, meritocracy is less valued.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for change.”
A heckler interrupted Hegseth’s opening remarks as well, calling him a “misogynist!”
“Misogyinst!” a man wearing a white sport jacket screamed before being escorted out by a Capitol Police officer. “You are a Christian Zionist!”
After the heckler was escorted out, Waltz continued.
”He will bring the perspective of being the first secretary of defense to have served as a junior officer on the front lines—not in the headquarters, on the front lines—in the War on Terror,” said Waltz, President-elect Donald Trump’s national security adviser pick.
“[He] recognizes the human costs, the financial costs, and the policy drift, that was discussed often in this very room, that led us to decades and decades of war.”
Hegseth also declared in his opening statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee that his “only special interest is the warfighter.”
“My only special interest is the warfighter, deterring wars, and if called upon, winning wars by ensuring our warriors never enter a fair fight; we let them win and we bring them home,” Hegseth declared.
“Our standards will be high and equal. Not equitable. That is a very different word,” the nominee added.
“Our left-wing media in America today, sadly, doesn’t care about the truth. All they were out to do, Mr. Chairman, was to destroy me,” he continued.
Hegseth bemoaned the fact that although his former colleagues and other fellow servicemen had also addressed the media, standing up for Hegseth’s character and maintaining that the whistleblowers provided no evidence, their positive evaluations of him received little media attention.
“What became very evident to us from the beginning, [is that] there was a coordinated smear campaign orchestrated in the media against us,” the Pentagon nominee continued.
“Now, it is true, and it’s been acknowledged, that I don’t have a similar biography to defense secretaries of the last 30 years, but as President Trump also told me, ‘We’ve repeatedly placed people atop the Pentagon with supposedly the right credentials, whether they are retired generals, academics or defense contractor executives, and where has it gotten us?’” Hegseth added.
“Like many of my generation, I’ve been there,” Hegseth said. “I’ve led troops in combat. I’ve been on patrol for days, pulled the trigger downrange, heard bullets whizzed by, called in close air support, led medevacs, dodged IEDs, pulled out dead bodies and knelt before a battlefield cross. This is not academic for me. This is my life. I led then, and I will lead now.”
Reed claimed that Hegseth’s FBI background check was “insufficient,” insinuating that they could not find any real “dirt” or wrongdoing on Hegseth’s record.
“You and I have both seen the FBI background investigation,” said Reed. “I want to say for the record, I believe the investigation was insufficient.”
Reed questioned Hegseth on his efforts to eradicate DEI and wokeness in the military, citing a sample of letters that current military leaders have received threatening “to remove disloyal, corrupt, traitorous, liberal officers.”
“Senator, you mentioned the word accountability, which is something we have not had for the last four years,” Hegseth responded back.
“All of your public comments don’t talk about meritocracy,” Reed complained.
“They talk about liberal, Democratic efforts that are destroying the military, that those people are enemies.”
Hegseth reiterated his support for women in the U.S. military, as long as they can pass all the necessary tests pertaining to strength. He also praised their “amazing contributions” both on and off the battlefield.
“Our differences are not what define us,” Hegseth responded, saying he “would be honored to serve alongside” female service members.
“I appreciate your 11th-hour conversion,” Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) said in a snarky tone.
Hegseth asserted that his previous remarks had nothing to do with the service of men or women in particular, but only with the “standards” maintained by the Pentagon. Women make up around 18% of U.S. military.
“Women in our military have—and continue to make—amazing contributions across all areas,” Hegseth added.
Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who is also a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, then blasted the Army’s existing physical fitness exam, saying that it only requires troops to run two miles in 22 minutes or less. That’s eleven minutes per mile.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) accused Pete Hegseth of “denigrating” liberal, LGBTQ, and female soldiers.
“Senator, as the president has stated, I don’t disagree with the overturn of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’” Hegseth said, regarding the Pentagon policy on homosexual service members, which was implemented under President Bill Clinton.
“Senator, I volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan under Democrat President Barack Obama,” he continued.
“I also volunteered to guard the inauguration of Joe Biden, but was denied the opportunity to serve because I was identified as an extremist by my own unit for a Christian tattoo.”
When questioned about the likelihood of the U.S. being involved in wars in two different theaters—China in the Pacific and Iran in the Middle East—Pete Hegseth stated that he believes President-elect Donald Trump will avert hostilities, unlike Biden.
“[That] is why I believe our country is incredibly fortunate to have a new commander-in-chief, in Donald Trump, who, through the strategic approach he has taken with allies and against foes, is preventing wars and [he] is determined to do the same,” Hegseth stated.
“That’s our job.. to deter and prevent wars … President Trump at the helm, I think, will go a long way in making sure our enemies know that there’s a new sheriff in town.”
Soon after, another Democrat lawmaker claimed that Pete Hegseth was “ousted” for financial mismanagement in the 2010s.
If nominated, Hegseth would be overseeing a budget of over $900 billion as chief of the Pentagon, according to Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).
Blumenthal pointed out that there were also budget “shortfalls” in several years.
However, the Veterans Affairs Department was enhanced by a number of laws that Hegseth explained were “brainchilds of Concerned Veterans for America.”
“We used our donor money … to create policy that bettered the lives of veterans,” Hegseth continued.
Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a female Iowa National Guard veteran, questioned Pete Hegseth about his “previous remarks.” She accused him of disparaging women in combat situations.
“I did serve in Kuwait and missions in Iraq, so it is incredibly important I stress—and I hope that it confirmed you continue to stress—that every man and woman has opportunity to serve their country in uniform and do so at any level, as long as they are meeting the standards that are set forward,” the Iowa Republican asserted.
“I want to know again—let’s make it very clear for everyone here today—as secretary of defense, will you support women continuing to have the opportunity to serve in combat?” she asked.
Hegseth nodded his head, saying that “women will have access to ground combat roles, given combat standards remain high.”
Hegseth also publicly pledged to abstain from alcohol while working at the Pentagon, and he denounced “false” allegations of sexual assault made against him.
“Since you became a legal adult, have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors” or “committed any verbal or physical assault of a sexual nature,” questioned Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii).
Hegseth responded: “Senator, I was falsely accused in October of 2017; it was fully investigated; and I was completely cleared.”
Another Democrat also claimed during the session that Hegseth was not “completely cleared” of sex assault allegations in 2017.
Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.): “I am shocked that you would stand here and say you’re completely cleared.”
Hegseth: “Those were false charges, it was fully investigated and I’ve been completely cleared.”
Kaine: “You have admitted that you had sex while you were married to wife two after you just had fathered a child by wife three. You’ve admitted that.”
Hegseth: “It was a false claim then, it’s a false claim now.”
Hegseth was asked by Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) how he thought U.S. service troops would respond to his promise to “rip the Biden woke yoke off the neck of the military.”
“Senator, I know the troops will rejoice,” Hegseth said in response. “They will love it. They will love it. And we’ve already seen it in recruiting numbers. There’s already been a surge since President Trump won the election of recruiting the Army’s interests.”
The new Defense Department would “focus on lethality and warfighting,” he continued.
Senator Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) butted in to express his thoughts as well.
“Mr. Hegseth, you are not the extremist… The people who would deny you your expression of faith are the extremists, they’re the racists, they’re the bigots.”
Nevertheless, Tim Kaine (D-Va.) continued to attack Hegseth, saying that those who were accusing him of personal and professional wrongdoing were “not anonymous” despite the fact that their names had not been made public, preventing a thorough public assessment of their reliability.
“They’re not anonymous. We’ve seen records with names attached to them,” Kaine said.
“One of your colleagues said that you got drunk at an event at a bar and chanted ‘Kill all Muslims.’ Another colleague—not anonymous, we have this—said that you took co-workers to a strip club, you were drunk, you tried to dance with strippers, you had to be held off the stage. And one of your employees in that event filed a sexual harassment charge as a result of it,” he continued.
“We have seen records with names attached to all of these, including the name of your own mother,” the Virginia senator added. “So don’t make this into some anonymous press thing. We have seen multiple names of colleagues consistently throughout your career that have talked about your abusive actions.”
Soon after, incoming-VP JD Vance posted on X, noting the importance of bringing Hegseth on board.
Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) jumped in the back-and-forth debate.
“Your position is torture’s OK?” King asked, explaining that that he was referring to the nominee’s past remarks. “Are we going to abide by the Geneva Convention and the prohibitions on torture or are we not?”
“That is not what I said. I’ve never been party to torture. We are a country that fights by the rule of law,” Hegseth responded.
“What an America First national security policy is not going to do is hand its prerogatives over to international bodies,” he continued.
In addition, King asked if Hegseth’s previous comments—which mentioned Iranian and Chinese aggression but not Russia’s war against Ukraine—were “code for, ‘We’re going to abandon Ukraine.’”
Hegseth responded, saying that Trump had “made it very clear that we’d like to see an end to that conflict.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), whom Trump refers to as “Pocahontas” after she previously claimed that she is “part Cherokee,” which also later resulted in condemnation from a Cherokee Tribe leader, dived into the conversation to try and save the day for the Democrats.
“I’ve heard of deathbed conversions, but this is the first-time I’ve heard of a nomination conversion,” Warren said. “If you can convert so rapidly your long-held and aggressively pursued views in just 32 days, that 32 days after you get confirmed,” she added. “Maybe you’ll just reverse those views and go back to the old guy who said ‘straight up’ women do not belong in combat.”
Hegseth: “This issue has always been about standards.”
This response prompted Warren to interrupt him, again.
“Let’s just stop right there,” she said. “I’m quoting you from the podcast. Women shouldn’t be in combat at all.”
In the middle of the hearing, Warren (D-Mass.) asked Pete Hegseth to “make that same pledge” after finding a rare point of agreement with him over his prior support for prohibiting retired military generals from lobbying.
“Senator, it’s not even a question I’ve thought about,” Hegseth said. “I would consult with the president.”
“In other words, you’re quite sure that every general who serves should not go directly into the defense industry for 10 years, but you’re not willing to make that same pledge?” asked Warren.
“I’m not a general, senator,” Hegseth stated, correcting her and prompting immense laughter from everyone in the session.
“You’ll be the one, let’s just be clear, in charge of the general. So you’re saying sauce for the goose but certainly not sauce for the gander?” Warren responded, ignoring the laughter at her expense.
“I would want to see what the policy of the president is,” Hegseth answered.
“Oh I’d bet you would,” Warren asserted.
Senator Gary Peters (D-Mich.) took his turn to address Hegseth.
He claimed that confirming Hegseth as the next secretary would “lower the standards.”
“We’re the board of directors here. I don’t know of any corporate board of directors that would hire a CEO for a major company if they came and they said, you know, ‘I supervised 100 people before.’”
“Give me an example of where you’ve driven down costs,” Peters continued. “Did you drive costs down in a 50-person organization?”
In response, Hegseth said he would be delighted to work for one of the “most successful CEOs in America history,” a reference to President-elect Donald Trump’s years as a real estate tycoon.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) chimed in to the conversation as well.
Wicker: “It seems to me that you’ve supervised far more people than the average United States senator supervises,” drawing applause from attendees.
Soon after, GOP Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) criticized Democrat senators for their hypocrisy in harassing Pete Hegseth over his past drinking.
Mullin: ”How many senators have showed up drunk to vote at night? Have any of you guys asked them to step down and resign from their job?” the Oklahoma Republican asked. “And don’t tell me you haven’t seen it, because I know you have.”
Retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), who was born in Bangkok, Thailand, then began attacking Hegseth, arguing that he was unfit for the job. When Duckworth asked Hegseth if he was aware of U.S. security accords, the defense candidate mentioned NATO before being cut off.
“Status of Forces Agreement,” Duckworth interjected. “You’re not qualified, Mr. Hegseth.”
“Let’s not lower the standards for you,” she declared. “You, sir, are a no-go at this station.”
All personnel expelled from their service branches for refusing to receive the experimental mRNA COVID-19 vaccine will be reinstated, Hegseth has previously pledged.
“During the COVID hysteria,” Senator Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) began, “8,000 well-trained men and women were fired. Will you commit today, Mr. Hegseth, to recruit these folks back, to give them back pay and give them an apology?”
“Not only will they be reinstated,” Hegseth responded. “They will receive an apology, back pay and rank that they lost because they were forced out due to an experimental vaccine.”
Senator Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who retired as a captain after decades of service in the U.S. Navy, made a litany of accusations regarding Hegseth’s alleged sexual misbehavior and binge drinking, and he asked if it was “true or false.”
“Anonymous smears,” Hegseth responded to each accusation, minus the strip club accusation.
“Absolutely not, anonymous smears,” the Pentagon nominee reiterated.
Hegseth then described Secretary Lloyd Austin’s and other Biden administration officials’ advocacy of the disastrous 2021 pullout from Afghanistan as “shameful.”
“They still tout it as the most successful airlift in American history,” he declared with a smirk, referring to it as an “utter failure” that resulted in the “detriment of our reputation.”
“No one else involved has ever taken accountability for it,” he said in relation to the Kabul pullout, during which 13 American service members were murdered in an ISIS-K suicide attack.
Hegseth was questioned by newly elected Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) if he would “push back” if he were “given an illegal order.”
“[Former Defense] Secretary Mark Esper was asked and did use uniformed military to clear unarmed protesters,” Slotkin said. “He later apologized publicly for those actions. Was he right or wrong to apologize?”
“I’m not going to put words in the mouth of Secretary Esper,” Hegseth responded.
“What are you scared of?” Slotkin asked.
“I’m not scared of anything, senator,” he shot back.
Slotkin: “If Donald Trump asked you to use the 82nd Airborne in law enforcement roles in Washington, D.C., would you also convince him otherwise?”
Hegseth: “I’m not going to get ahead of conversations I would have with the president,” he answered. “However, there are laws and processes inside our Constitution that would be followed.”
“Senator, I’m glad we finally got to the topic of border security equaling national security,” he later responded.
“That wasn’t my question,” she said aa counterer response. “Will you ask the active duty to staff detention centers?”
Hegseth: “Everything we will do will be lawful and under the Constitution.”
Slotkin: ‘I’m going to take that as a ‘Yes.”
The hearing concluded with questioning by former Navy SEAL Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.).
Sheehy: “Pete, I’m actually going to ask you questions because I want to hear your answer… How many genders are there? Tough one.”
Hegseth: “Senator, there are two genders.”
Sheehy: “I know that well — I’m a Sheehy, so I’m on board.” He laughed afterwards. “How many push-ups can you do?”
Hegseth: “I did five sets of 47 this morning.”
Sheehy: “What do you think our most important strategic base is in the Pacific?”
Hegseth: “Guam is pretty significant.”
The Senate Armed Services Committee ended its hearing with Hegseth a little before 2 p.m.
“I want to thank the witnesses and their families,” stated Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) before gaveling out. “This hearing is adjourned.”
After today’s hearing, the Trump-Vance transition team quickly declared victory for Hegseth, the defense secretary-designate.
“Today, in his confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services, Pete Hegseth showed the American people why President Trump nominated him as our next Secretary of Defense,” spokesman Jake Schneider stated.
Immediately after, Hegseth walked up to his wife, greeting her with a big kiss and hug.
Next week, a committee vote on Hegseth’s nomination is anticipated to take place. A final vote by the whole Senate is set for a later date.
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