Nearly two hours into his Senate hearing, Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to be defense secretary, has vigorously defended himself on a range of contentious issues, including a sexual assault allegation, his lack of management experience and his comments against women serving in combat.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Hegseth hinted at his disdain for the Pentagon’s diversity, equity and inclusion programs, saying “our standards will be high and they will be equal — not equitable.”
Instead, Mr. Hegseth, an Iraq and Afghanistan combat veteran, presented himself as the “warrior” he has accused the left of targeting. He said he would “return the Pentagon back to warfighting” and “restore the warrior ethos back to the Pentagon.”
Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, gave Mr. Hegseth the opportunity to clarify his many past public comments about women not belonging in combat in the military. Mr. Hegseth said that when he said that, he meant standards, and added that: “What is true is that the weight of the ruck on your back doesn’t change.”
“Whether it’s a man or a woman,” he said, “they have to set the same high standards.”
In response to Senator Mazie Hirono, Mr. Hegseth directly addressed an accusation that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017. “Senator, I was falsely accused in October of 2017 it was fully investigated and I was completely cleared.”
He heatedly blamed the media for circulating allegations from anonymous sources that he says are false. Previously he has denied the assault allegation, which did not lead to criminal charges.
Republican and Democrats have so far followed partisan lines for Mr. Trump’s pick.
In his opening remarks, Senator Roger Wicker, Republican of Mississippi and the chairman of the committee, spoke about the failures of past civilian leaders of the Pentagon, opining that Mr. Hegseth’s military experience and “unconventional” background “may be what makes Mr. Hegseth an excellent choice.”
Mr. Hegseth does not the fit the mold of most former defense secretaries — former generals, C.E.O.s and lawmakers — and said that was an asset. “As President Trump also told me, we’ve repeatedly placed people atop the Pentagon with supposedly the right credentials, whether they’re retired generals, academics or defense contractor executives. And where has it gotten us?”
Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Panel, told Mr. Hegseth in his opening remarks that he was unqualified to lead the Pentagon.
“Indeed, the totality of your own writings and alleged conduct would disqualify any service member from holding any leadership position in the military, much less being confirmed as the Secretary of Defense,” Mr. Reed said.
Senator Reed said that Mr. Hegseth is woefully short on managerial experience, noting that two small nonprofit veterans groups he ran ended up in debt. “I don’t know how he’s going to run an organization with an $857 billion budget and 3 million individuals,” he said.
The packed hearing room on Capitol Hill was disrupted early on three times by hecklers opposing Mr. Hegseth. Capitol Police quickly hustled out the shouting protesters.
