Democrats Grill Pete Hegseth On Sexual Assault And Alcohol Abuse Claims, But Republicans Defend Trump’s Pentagon Pick At Confirmation Hearing -Update
UPDATE: Pete Hegseth had a number of tense exchanges with Democratic Senators at his confirmation hearing today, providing for some viral moments, but Republicans signaled their support for the former Fox News host to lead the Pentagon.
A key vote is Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), who had expressed some hesitation to back Donald Trump’s pick as news emerged of a settlement with a woman who accused Hegseth of sexual assault.
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One of Ernst’s central concerns has been the prevalence of sexual assault in the military. Hegseth told her that he would appoint a senior level official dedicated to sexual assault prevention and response, and she didn’t indicate opposition to his nomination.
Democrats seized on the hearing to highlight Hegseth’s lack of experience leading an organization anywhere near the size of the Pentagon.
But the standout moments came when Hegseth faced questions of excessive drinking and past comments about women in the military. In 2017, a woman accused Hegseth of sexual assault following a night of drinking at a hotel in Monterey, CA. No charges were ever filed, and Hegseth reached a confidential settlement with the accused in 2020. He has denied the claims, and his attorney told The Washington Post that their sexual encounter was consensual. The attorney also acknowledged that his client had been drinking. Hegseth also was married at the time.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) told Hegseth about the incident, “You had just fathered a child two months before by a woman who was not your wife. I am shocked that you would stand here and say you were completely cleared. Can you so casually cheat on a second wife and cheat on the mother of a child who had been born two months before and tell us you were completely cleared?”
“Those were false charges. It was fully investigated and i was completely cleared,” Hegseth said.
Kaine pressed further. “How do you explain your judgment?”
Hegseth continued to repeat that the accuser’s claim was “false,” but repeated that he was not “a perfect person.”
“I have failed in things in my life and thankfully I am redeemed by my lord and savior Jesus Christ,” he said.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) ran through instances where Hegseth has allegedly been intoxicated. He repeatedly called them “anonymous smears.”
Earlier, Hegseth had blasted the media for what he said was a “smear campaign” against his nomination.
Kelly, though, said that Hegsteth was not being transparent. “You say you had personal issues in your past, yet when asked about those very issues, you blame an anonymous smear campaign, even when many of these claims are not anonymous,” he said. “Which is it? Have you overcome personal issues, or are you the target of a smear campaign? It can’t be both.”
The FBI did do a background check of Hegseth, but Democrats said that it was incomplete. The 2017 accuser was not interviewed. “I don’t think she wanted to speak,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told CNN after the hearing.
“They interviewed some 60 or more witnesses and three asked not to be identified,” he said.
PREVIOUSLY: Pete Hegseth, the former co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend, launched a broadside against media coverage of his Defense Secretary nomination in the early part of his confirmation hearing Tuesday, as he pushed back against reports of drunkenness and a claim of sexual assault.
Hegseth was Trump’s surprise pick as Defense Secretary, but his nomination appeared to be in danger as allegations surfaced that he had been accused of sexually assaulting a woman after a night of drinking in 2017. Hegseth denied the claims, and no charges were filed. But he reached a confidential settlement with the accuser in 2020.
At the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Hegseth was asked about the allegations and other criticisms, including accusations that he mismanaged two nonprofits he led before he landed a Fox News gig.
Hegseth blamed the reports on a “coordinated smear campaign orchestrated in the media against us that was clear from moment one.”
“What we knew was that it wasn’t about me,” Hegseth said. “Most of it was about Donald Trump, who’s had to endure the same thing for much longer amounts of time.”
Hegseth said that the reports were based on “a small handful of anonymous sources,” and that “we didn’t understand the depth of dishonesty that would come with it. So from story after story in the media, left wing media, we saw anonymous source after anonymous source based on second or third hand accounts.”
That said, Hegseth acknowledged that he was “not a perfect person,” but that “redemption is real.”
According to Hegseth’s financial disclosure form, he received a salary of $4.6 million from Fox News over a span of almost two years.
As the first Trump nominee to have a confirmation hearing, Hegseth’s appearance drew coverage across all the major cable news networks.
Hegseth presented himself as a “change agent,” or “someone with no vested interest in certain companies or specific programs or approved narratives.” “My only special interest is the war fighter, 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’s opening statement was interrupted by protesters at one point.
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