Democrats are preparing to grill defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth over his past actions and opposition to female combatants in a potentially explosive confirmation hearing on Tuesday, but he remains controversial. Even though he publicly retracted his statement.
Hegseth, a retired Army veteran and former Fox News personality, will appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee at 9:30 a.m., preparing for tough questioning.
Senators have questioned his suitability to lead the Pentagon and are likely to dig into his past comments about female soldiers and allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking against him. .
“He can walk back all he wants to say about women in combat, but we all know what he's thinking, right?” Democratic Democrat Tammy Duckworth of Illinois said in the opening statement. said.
Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran who lost both legs and part of his right arm when the Black Hawk helicopter he was piloting with the Army National Guard was shot down, said: “He is the most unqualified person ever nominated for Secretary of Defense.'' He is a great person,” he added. ”
During an appearance on the Sean Ryan Show podcast late last year, Hegseth expressed her firm opposition to allowing female soldiers to fight.
“I want to be frank and say that women should not be put in combat roles,” he said at the time. “It didn't make us more efficient. It didn't make us more lethal. It made the fight more complicated.”
He later softened his view, claiming his comments had been “misunderstood.”
“Some of our nation's greatest warriors, some of the world's greatest warriors, are women,” Hegseth told Fox News' Sean Hannity. ” He added that it helps protect the country.
Hegseth will also be forced to face allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman and then paid her hush money — an allegation he has long denied.
Sen. Maisie Hirono (D-Hawaii) told Punchbowl News that she, like other candidates, plans to ask Hegseth if he has been accused of sexual assault.
“I'll ask him those questions and see what his answer is,” Hirono said. “I focus on things that are already public, like what he signed. [non-disclosure agreement] with a woman who claims he raped her. ”
with post wire
