WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� , President-elect pick for defense secretary, publicly faced senators for the first time after weeks of 鈥� and 鈥� about his 鈥渦nconventional鈥� resume.
Hegseth, a combat veteran and former TV news host, says he will be a 鈥渃hange agent鈥� and a 鈥渨arrior鈥� as Republicans demand new and strong leadership at the Pentagon. Democrats say Hegseth鈥檚 running a huge department, his past comments about women and Black troops, and of excessive drinking and make him unfit to serve.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. , R-Miss., called Hegseth鈥檚 nomination 鈥渦nconventional鈥� but compared him to Trump, saying that may just be what makes him an 鈥渆xcellent choice.鈥�
Rhode Island Sen. the committee's top Democrat, said Hegseth lacks 鈥渢he character and the competence鈥� to lead the Defense Department. Reed said he has voted to confirm the nine previous defense secretaries, including in Trump鈥檚 first term, but will not support Hegseth.
His confirmation would be an 鈥渁n insult to the men and women who have sworn to uphold their own apolitical duty to the Constitution,鈥� Reed said.
Here are some takeaways from Hegseth鈥檚 confirmation hearing:
A 'warrior culture' at the Pentagon
Hegseth told senators that Trump鈥檚 primary charge to him was 鈥渢o bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense鈥� and that 鈥渉e wants a Pentagon laser-focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness."
Republicans have President Pentagon for encouraging and say there is no place for 鈥渨oke鈥� culture in the military.
Reed said he wants Hegseth to explain why DEI efforts make the military weak and 鈥渉ow you propose to 鈥榰ndo鈥� that without undermining military leadership and harming readiness, recruitment and retention.鈥�
Hegseth said the military "was a forerunner in courageous racial integration in ways no other institutions were willing to do鈥� but argued that modern diversity and inclusion policies divide troops and didn鈥檛 prioritize 鈥渕eritocracy.鈥�
A secretary with 'dust on his boots'
Republicans have praised Hegseth's lack of a high-level leadership role. Hegseth said 鈥渋t's time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm."
But Hegseth would not be the first defense secretary to have served in combat 鈥� far from it. An array of previous secretaries have had combat service, dodging bombs and leading troops into the fight, including current Defense Secretary , who was a leader in the initial invasion into .
Lt. Col. , Trump鈥檚 first defense secretary, fought in the Gulf War and later retired as a four-star general. And Trump鈥檚 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.
Chuck Hagel, who served under former President , was the first former enlisted soldier to become defense secretary. He served as a sergeant on the front lines in Vietnam.
鈥楨qual standards鈥� for female troops
Hegseth made overtures to women and Black troops, an attempt to blunt some of the criticism of his previous comments that and his suggestions that some Black troops may not be qualified.
"It would be the privilege of a lifetime, if confirmed, to be the secretary of defense for all men and women in uniform,鈥� Hegseth said.
At the same time, he implied that the Pentagon has lowered standards for women to fight without giving examples of those standards.
鈥淭he standards need to be the same, and they need to be high,鈥� Hegseth said, adding that where those standards have been eroded to meet diversity quotas, that should be under review.
New York Sen. , a Democrat, told Hegseth that his quotes about women are 鈥渢errible鈥� and harmful to morale.
鈥淵ou will have to change how you see women to do this job,鈥� she said.
A senior defense official, who wasn't authorized to talk with the media and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the standards for military service haven't been lowered and are based on each field and ability, not gender.
Hegseth was questioned about the issue by Iowa Sen. , an Iraq veteran and a survivor of sexual assault. Hegseth to Ernst that he will to hire a senior official to prioritize those cases in the military.
'Insufficient' background check
Reed told Wicker at the beginning of the hearing that he believes the FBI background check on Hegseth was 鈥渋nsufficient.鈥�
鈥淭here are still FBI obligations to talk to people,鈥� Reed said.
The background check did not probe or produce new information beyond what鈥檚 already in the public realm about Hegseth, according to a person familiar with the situation who insisted on anonymity to discuss it.
Sen. , D-Conn., asked Hegseth if he鈥檇 be willing to submit to an expanded background check with interviews of former colleagues, ex-wives, 鈥渟exual assault survivors and others.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 not in charge of FBI background checks,鈥� Hegseth said.
A focus on character
Hegseth鈥檚 hearing was focused far more on character issues than recent defense nominees have faced. Senators also questioned whether Hegseth has the management experience to do the job.
Austin and Mattis faced questions about being recently retired four-star generals but had significant support and were grilled on policy. , the only other Trump defense nominee to get a hearing, faced a number of questions about keeping the military apolitical and how he would make decisions on the use of military force.
Even Hegseth鈥檚 Republican supporters spent a great deal of time digging into character and leadership issues to give him more opportunities to defend himself. North Dakota Sen. praised his faith, while Montana Sen. asked him how many push-ups he could do. Several Republicans praised his military service and described him as 鈥渢ough.鈥�
Hegseth acknowledged he鈥檚 only run organizations with at most a couple hundred people and said he would surround himself with knowledgeable staff.
鈥淚 know what I don鈥檛 know,鈥� Hegseth said.
鈥業鈥檓 not a perfect person鈥�
Hegseth did not directly address the allegations of sexual misconduct and aggressively pushed back on Democrats who asked questions about it, calling it a 鈥渃oordinated smear campaign."
鈥淚鈥檓 not a perfect person but redemption is real,鈥� Hegseth said.
In 2017, , 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鈥檚 event in California was consensual. He was not charged but paid the woman to head off a potential lawsuit.
Asked by Hawaii Sen. , a Democrat, if he had entered into a settlement, Hegseth replied that he was falsely accused. He has said repeatedly that he was 鈥渃ompletely cleared.鈥�
Hirono also asked him about reports of excessive drinking. Hegseth has told Republican senators in meetings over the last month that he will not drink on the job.
Republicans dismissed the allegations. Sen. , R-Okla., noted that Democratic senators had asked Hegseth about his drinking, saying, 鈥淗ow many senators have showed up drunk to vote at night?鈥�
鈥淒on't tell me you haven鈥檛 seen it, because I know you have,鈥� Mullin said to his colleagues.
___
Associated Press writers Matt Brown, Tara Copp and Lisa Mascaro contributed reporting.
Mary Clare Jalonick And Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press
