28 Posts Sort By
Latest
Oldest
Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York told Pete Hegseth on Tuesday that she wasn’t sure he is “capable” of changing how he sees women in the military, which would be necessary for him to be the secretary of defense if confirmed.
“If you are saying that women shouldn’t be serving in the military — and I’m going to read you your quotes, because the quotes themselves are terrible — you will have to change how you see women to do this job well,” Gillibrand said. “And I don’t know if you are capable of that.”
She added, “You’ve denigrated active-duty service members. We have hundreds, hundreds of women who are currently in the infantry. Lethal members of our military, serving in the infantry, but you degrade them. You say, ‘We need moms, but not in the military, especially in combat units.’ … These are the requirements today for people serving in the [infantry], men and women,” Gillibrand said, holding up a piece of paper with listed requirements on it. “They are gender neutral, and they are very difficult to meet. They have not been reduced in any way. And our combat units, our infantry, is lethal.”
Hegseth responded that he has “never disparaged” women who serve in the military, and said he had “personal experience” of instances of standards being lowered, pointing to examples he was told by others while writing his book “The War on Warriors.”
He did not provide a specific example of standards being lowered to bring women into units, when pushed by Gillibrand to do so.
Here’s the exchange:
“Standards have been changed inside infantry training units” Hegseth said, “Ranger School, infantry battalions to ensure that commanders —”
“Give me one example,” Gillibrand said. “Please give me an example. I get that you’re making this generalized statements—”
“Commanders meet quotas to have a certain number of female infantry officers or infantry enlisted and that disparages those women who are incredibly capable of meeting that standard,” Hegseth continued.
“Commanders do not have quotas for the infantry,” Gillibrand responded.
“Commanders do not have to have a quota for women in the infantry. That does not exist. It does not exist,” she added. “And your statements are creating the impression that that these exist because they do not. There are not quotas, we want the most lethal force.”
Despite previous comments that allowing gay people to serve in the military is “social engineering,” President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, maintained that he does not disagree with the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that prevented gay service members from openly serving.
“As the president[-elect] has stated, I don’t disagree with the overturn of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’” said Hegseth at his confirmation hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Hegseth has previously called policies allowing gay people to serve openly in the military part of a “Marxist” agenda to prioritize social justice over combat readiness.
Responding to comments he previously made that he did not believe women should serve in combat roles, President-elect Donald Trump’s defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth said he now believes women “make amazing contributions across all aspects of our battlefield.”
“When I’m talking about that issue, it’s not about the capabilities of men and women; it’s about standards,” said Hegseth at his confirmation hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Hegseth was questioned by Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, who pressed Hegseth on his previous comments including in a book where he said women are “comparatively less effective than men in combat roles.”
“This committee has talked a lot about standards, standards that we, unfortunately over time, have seen eroded in certain duty positions, certain schools, certain places, which affects readiness, which is what I care about the most,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth did not say how standards had been lowered for women in those “duty positions,” “schools” or “places.”
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, unequivocally stood by Israel at his hearing Tuesday as the country continues to fight its war against Hamas in Gaza.
When asked by GOP Sen. Tom Cotton to respond to a protester who interrupted Hegseth’s opening remarks by calling him a “Christian zionist,” Hegseth said, “I robustly support the state of Israel and its existential defense.”
He later added: “I support Israel destroying and killing every last member of Hamas.”
Some background: The war has raged on for more than a year in response to the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel has been criticized for tens of thousands of civilian deaths, including deaths caused by disruption to health care, insufficient food, clean water and sanitation, and disease outbreaks. Hamas and Israel are closest to a Gaza ceasefire-hostage agreement in months, mediators say.
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, defended his support for service members accused and convicted of war crimes on Tuesday, saying there was “prosecutorial misconduct” in their cases and that he was “proud” to ensure they were looked after.
“I’m not talking about disavowing the laws of war, or the Geneva Conventions or the Uniform Code of Military Justice,” Hegseth said in response to questioning from ranking Democratic member Sen. Jack Reed. “Sir, I’m talking about restrictive rules of engagement that these men and women behind me understand, they’ve lived with on the battlefield, which has made it more difficult to defeat our enemies.”
He continued, “In many of the cases you’re talking about in particular, sir, there was evidence withheld, there was prosecutorial misconduct, and as someone who looks case by case and defaults to the war fighter — to the men and women with dust on their boots, not the second guessers in air conditioned offices in Washington, DC — I looked case by case and was proud to work with President Trump to understand those cases and ensure that our warriors are always looked out for.”
Some background: CNN has reported that Hegseth privately encouraged Trump during his first presidency to pardon some servicemen who were convicted of war crimes. Trump later pardoned two service members — Army Maj. Mathew Golsteyn and 1st Lt. Clint Lorance — and restored the rank of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, who had been demoted.
Hegseth has since repeated his support for Gallagher, Golsteyn and Lorance.
Before Trump’s pardons, Golsteyn had been charged with the 2010 murder of an Afghan civilian, to which he pleaded not guilty, and Lorance was found guilty of second-degree murder for ordering his troops to fire on three men on a motorcycle in Afghanistan. Gallagher had been acquitted of nearly all charges relating to the death of a 12-year-old ISIS fighter in Iraq but was found of posing for a photo with the fighter.
Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat of the Senate Armed Services Committee, made several requests at the start of his questioning of Pete Hegseth, including that the FBI report on President-elect Donald Trump’s defense pick be made public to the entire committee.
Reed and committee Chair Roger Wicker have seen the FBI report, but per the committee’s practices, other members of the committee did not receive a briefing.
“I believe the investigation was insufficient, frankly. There’s still FBI obligations to talk to people,” Reed said, adding that Democratic and Republican members have asked to be briefed on the report.
The FBI did not interview Hegseth’s two ex-wives and the woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her in California in 2017, a person with knowledge of the FBI’s report told CNN. It is not clear whether the FBI did not reach out to the women or if they declined to be interviewed.
Reed also asked that members be given a second round to question Hegseth. Before questioning began, Wicker said there will only be one round of questioning, and each senator will be given seven minutes.
“What I intend to do is follow the exact precedent that we’ve had for the last two hearings with regard to secretaries of defense,” Wicker said, indicating the full committee would not see the report and that there would be one round of questioning.
Manhattan prosecutors told a federal appeals court that Donald Trump’s attempt to move the hush money case into federal court is moot since he’s been sentenced.
“Defendant’s appeal is moot because he has already been sentenced. As federal courts have uniformly held, removal is unavailable once final judgment has been entered in the state proceeding,” prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney’s office wrote in a court filing.
The appeal was one of Trump’s last-ditch legal maneuvers to try to block Trump from being sentenced before he was sworn in as president.
More background: Trump sought to first move the state charges into federal court in 2023. A federal judge rejected his argument after finding the hush money payment made to coverup an alleged sex scandal were personal acts, not official presidential acts.
After Trump was convicted of 34 state felonies of falsifying business records and the Supreme Court issued its decision on presidential immunity in July, Trump tried again, asking the federal judge for permission to file new motions and to block Trump’s sentencing while that played out. The request was denied, and Trump appealed the decision. The appeals court set the prosecutor’s briefs deadline for Monday.
Friday, Trump was sentenced to an unconditional discharge, meaning he would face no prison time, fines or probation. He has vowed to appeal his conviction.
President-elect Donald Trump’s defense secretary pick, Pete Hegseth, acknowledged he’s “not a perfect person” after characterizing various allegations against him as a “smear campaign.”
“I’m not a perfect person, but redemption is real, and God forged me in ways that I know I’m prepared for,” said Hegseth during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday with the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Hegseth faces allegations that include sexual assault and of mismanaging funds at a veterans’ organization. He has denied the claims.
Hegseth credited his faith and his wife, Jennifer Cunningham Hegseth, for his “redemption.”
“I have prided myself as a leader of respecting people, being professional,” said Hegseth.
Asked to respond to an allegation that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017, Donald Trump’s defense secretary pick, Pete Hegseth, said on Tuesday it was false and part of a “smear campaign” by “left-wing media” against him.
“What became very evident to us from the beginning, there was a coordinated smear campaign orchestrated in the media against us,” Hegseth said during his confirmation hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Hegseth added that he believed the allegations were an attempt to — through him — smear Trump, “who’s had to endure the very same thing for much longer amounts of time.”
“I’m willing to endure these attacks, but what I will do is stand up for the truth and for my reputation,” said Hegseth.
According to a police report obtained by CNN, the alleged victim told police that Hegseth physically blocked her from leaving a hotel room, took her phone and then sexually assaulted her even though she “remembered saying ‘no’ a lot.” Hegseth told police that their encounter was consensual and that he had repeatedly made sure the woman “was comfortable with what was going on between the two of them.”
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, emphasized repeatedly in his opening remarks at his confirmation hearing Tuesday that his priority in the Pentagon will be warfighting and lethality.
“As I’ve said to many of you in our private meetings, when Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense. He, like me, wants a Pentagon laser focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards and readiness,” Hegseth said. “That’s it. That is my job.”
Hegseth, a former Army National Guard infantry officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, emphasized his priority is bringing a “warrior ethos” to the Pentagon. He pointed to his experiences in combat such as pulling “a trigger downrange,” and hearing “bullets whiz by.”
He also said he has a different background from the defense secretaries of the last few decades.
“But, as President Trump also told me,” he said, ”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? He believes, and I humbly agree, that it’s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm. A change agent.”
Several recent defense secretaries, including Lloyd Austin and Jim Mattis, also have experience leading troops in combat.
Hegseth said Tuesday that he first joined the military because he loves the US and “felt an obligation to defend it.”
“And when I took off the uniform, my mission never stopped,” he said.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker said there will be one round of questioning in Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing.
Wicker said each member will be recognized for 7 minutes. That’s approximately 3 hours, 10 minutes total for the hearing.
Protesters interrupted the confirmation hearing of Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary.
“You are a misogynist,” one protester yelled. The protester called Hegseth a “Christian Zionist” and then he yelled about the war in Gaza.
Multiple protesters were escorted out of the hearing room.
“Let me just say this, the Capitol Police are going to remove immediately individuals that are disrupting the hearing. I see a pattern — attempted to be inflicted on the committee, and we’re simply not going to tolerate that,” Chairman of the Armed Services Committee Sen. Roger Wicker said.
CNN’s Manu Raju contributed to this report.
Senate Armed Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, a Republican senator from Mississippi, defended Pete Hegseth during his opening remarks, touting President-elect Donald Trump’s defense pick as “an excellent choice.”
Stressing the importance of the role of defense secretary “in a moment of consequence” — referring to conflicts in the Middle East and tense relations with China and Russia — Wicker said Hegseth “will bring energy and fresh ideas to shake up the bureaucracy.”
Though Wicker has backed Hegseth, other senators on the committee, including some Republicans, have been hesitant about confirming the veteran and former Fox News host given the slew of allegations that have emerged against him, ranging from sexual assault to excessive drinking in the workplace.
Wicker on Tuesday casted doubt on the validity of these accusations, dismissing them as “anonymous.”
“Much has been made of both Mr. Hegseth’s personal life and some of his policy pronouncements,” Wicker said. “Regarding his personal conduct, Mr. Hegseth has admitted to falling short, as we all do from time to time. It is noteworthy that the vast majority of accusations leveled at Mr. Hegseth have come from anonymous sources. Contrast these anonymous accusations with the many public letters of support and commendation.”
Hegseth has denied all wrongdoing. He has not been charged in connection with the sexual assault allegation, and he has maintained he does not have a drinking problem.
Democratic Sen. Jack Reed, ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, says that he believes Pete Hegseth is not “qualified to meet the overwhelming demands of this job,” in his opening statement during Hegseth’s confirmation hearing to be secretary of defense.
Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told CNN that he and his colleagues would still like access to the FBI’s background investigation on Pete Hegseth.
Kelly said that it is his understanding that the ranking member on the committee, Democratic Sen. Jack Reed, did request that but it has not happened. Kelly noted there have been exceptions in the past that allowed the full committee to see the report.
He also said he continues to have serious concerns that Hegseth can handle the job.
Kelly said it remains to be seen if GOP chair Sen. Roger Wicker eventually allows all members of the committee to review the background report. Armed Services protocol is that only the chair and ranking member get to see it.
The confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon, is underway.
Hegseth is expected to be questioned by the Senate Armed Services Committee over allegations including sexual assault and excessive drinking in the workplace.
Hegseth has denied all accusations and made several trips to Capitol Hill to shore up support since he was announced as Trump’s pick, including meeting with senators as recently as last week.
Here’s a full guide for today’s hearing.
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon, has arrived at his hearing before the Senate Armed Services committee on Tuesday.
Hegseth did not answer a question from CNN about whether all members of the panel should be able to see the FBI background report on him.
The chairman and ranking member of the committee have been able to view the report, per standard practice. Democrats on the panel have raised concerns about the thoroughness of the report and their lack of access to it.
The FBI did not interview several key women from President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense Pete Hegseth’s past, including his two ex-wives and the woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her in California in 2017, according to a person with knowledge of the FBI’s report on Hegseth that was briefed to the Senate Armed Services Committee leadership this week.
It is not clear whether the FBI did not reach out to the women or if they declined to be interviewed as part of the background probe into Hegseth’s past. It is not required to cooperate with an FBI background investigation.
But the women could have provided more insight into aspects of Hegseth’s life that Senate Democrats have expressed interest in, including Hegseth’s documented history of infidelity and allegations of alcohol abuse.
The FBI did interview others from Hegseth’s past, including some of his former Fox News colleagues and some of his superiors from when he served in the National Guard, the person familiar with the report said.
Hegseth has denied all allegations.
Overall, the report offered no real surprises and was largely consistent with what has been reported about Hegseth’s past, the person said.
The report was initially briefed by Trump transition officials to the Senate Armed Services chair and ranking member only, in keeping with past practice of only briefing SASC leadership. But ranking member Sen. Jack Reed briefed it to a wider array of Senate Democrats on Monday night.
President-elect Donald Trump’s team has spent the last few days drafting a series of talking points and pre-planned statements that they plan to release throughout Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing today, sources familiar with the strategy told CNN.
Members of Trump’s team have also reviewed Hegseth’s opening statement and helped him prepare behind the scenes for specific contentious moments, the sources said, including mock hearings with Trump advisers and Senate Republicans.
Trump’s advisers argue they feel confident Hegseth will be able to handle himself well today, though they also acknowledge certain moments will likely get ugly.
President-elect Donald Trump senior adviser Jason Miller predicted that defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth will do “very well” at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee today, and he defended the “historical norm” that only the committee’s heads have reviewed the FBI background check into Hegseth.
“Not at all,” Miller responded when pressed by Kasie Hunt on CNN if there’s anything to hide in Hegseth’s FBI background check that Senate Democrats shouldn’t see. “In fact, that’s why both the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the ranking member have had the opportunity to review that file.”
Miller continued: “That is the historical norm … I don’t why Democrats want to go and try to change the rules all of sudden just because it’s one of President Trump’s nominees.”
“Pete Hegseth is really going to impress people today,” Miller added, stressing that he isn’t concerned about “any” of Trump’s nominees.
“I think all of them are going to be confirmed,” he said.
Special counsel report: Miller also responded to the release of former special counsel Jack Smith’s report and letter overnight detailing Trump’s actions around the January 6, 2021, attack of the Capitol.
“Very simply, President Trump didn’t do anything wrong and that’s why this case completely fell apart on Jack Smith,” the Trump transition spokesperson said. He argued the report’s release “shows just how politicized the entire Justice Department has become.”
