Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth's confirmation hearing: What to know, how to watch

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Defense, is set to face his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday.

Hegseth's nomination has been embroiled in scandal, including accusations of sexual assault and right-wing extremism, all of which he has denied. The former Fox News host is expected to face tough questions from Senate Democrats about his past, including allegations of alcohol abuse and opposition to women in combat roles.

“There’s big issues of character that have been raised about his conduct, which has to be considered,” Rhode Island's Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, which will conduct Tuesday's hearing, said in an interview with USA TODAY.

Meanwhile, Hegseth recently told reporters: “I’m a different man than I was years ago, and that’s a redemption story that I think a lot of Americans appreciate."

Here's what you need to know.

Watch Pete Hegseth's confirmation hearing

The hearing is expected to begin Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. ET, according to the Armed Services Committee website, which says it will have a live video.

Who is Pete Hegseth?

Hegseth, 44, is largely known for his eight years on Fox News and for writing the book "The War on Warriors." Trump praised the book in his announcement, saying the book revealed "the leftwing betrayal of our Warriors, and how we must return our Military to meritocracy, lethality, accountability, and excellence."

Hegseth served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army Reserve and the National Guard in New Jersey, New York, Minnesota, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C., between May 2001 and March 2021, a spokesperson for the National Guard previously told USA TODAY.

A November Army Times article notes Hegseth's experience is "radically different" from recent secretaries who had long active-duty military careers and came to the position as high-ranking officers.

Assault allegations rocked nomination

A woman claimed that Hegseth sexually assaulted her in 2017 at a hotel in California, according to a report from the Monterey Police Department. The woman told police that she had hazy memories of the encounter but that she had repeated “no” and that Hegseth swiped away her phone and blocked the door with his body, according to police documents.

An attorney for Hegseth, told multiple outlets in December that his client paid the accuser in 2017 because he feared losing his job at Fox News. Hegseth has denied the sexual assault allegation and was never charged.

Hegseth's treatment of women came to light again after a letter written by his mother during his divorce from his second wife was published by the New York Times.

"You are an abuser of women – that is the ugly truth," Penelope Hegseth wrote, accusing her son of "dishonesty, sleeping around, betrayal, debasing, belittling" women. She later appeared on Fox News to defend him, saying her son is "not that man he was seven years ago."

Drinking accusations follow Hegseth

Hegseth has also been accused of abusing alcohol.

A story in the New Yorker magazine cited a report by a whistleblower saying Hegseth was repeatedly intoxicated while running the nonprofit organization Concerned Veterans for America, including an incident in which he had to be carried out of one of the group’s events. Hegseth was pushed out of the group over his alcohol abuse on the job, according to three sources quoted in the story.

Six of Hegseth's former co-workers at Fox News told The Washington Post they saw Hegseth drink on the job or appear to be intoxicated at work events.

Hegseth has denied the report.

Hegseth's controversial tattoo

Hegseth told podcaster and former Navy Seal Shawn Ryan in November that he was removed from a National Guard deployment to President Joe Biden’s inauguration because his superiors found his tattoos to be “extremist.”

Hegseth described the tattoo in question as a Jerusalem Cross and a symbol of his Christian faith.

The Associated Press reported that 12 members of the National Guard were removed from Biden's swearing-in ceremony because of concerns about ties to extremist groups.

Contributing: USA TODAY's Tom Vanden Brook, Riley Beggin, Cybele Mayes-Osterman and Will Carless

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pete Hegseth Senate confirmation hearing: What to know, how to watch