Confirmation hearings for Trump’s nominees begin today, with much of the attention likely to focus on Pete Hegseth, a former Minnesota Army National Guard officer whom Trump has nominated for the role of secretary of defense.
The Senate Armed Services Committee, leading off Hegseth’s confirmation process, questioned Hegseth about his plans to reorient the military’s warfighting focus and his views on women serving in combat roles.
Hegseth Pledges Back Pay for Members Kicked Out for Declining COVID Vaccine
Pete Hegseth committed, if confirmed as defense secretary, that the Pentagon would give back pay to servicemembers who “were forced out due to an experimental vaccine,” noting that Trump has committed to these actions.
Additionally, he said, members would be reinstated with their rank and receive an apology.
Hegseth Expounds on Being Labeled an Extremist
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) asked Pete Hegseth to elaborate on the tattoo that led to the revocation of his military orders to guard President Joe Biden’s inauguration in January 2021.
“It’s called the Jerusalem cross; it’s a historic Christian symbol,” Hegseth said, noting that the same cross was printed on the program of the late President Jimmy Carter’s memorial service last week.
Hegseth explained that he had received orders to guard Biden’s inauguration, but those orders—along with others—were inexplicably revoked “at the last minute.” It wasn’t until he began writing his book, “The War on Warriors,” that he learned he had been identified as an extremist.
“Things like focusing on extremism, senator, have created a climate inside our ranks that feels political when it hasn’t ever been political,” Hegseth said, adding that he would shift that focus if confirmed.
Hegseth Says He’ll Reinstate Members Terminated Over Vaccine Mandate
Pete Hegseth said that he will reinstate military members who had been released from service because they did not follow the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
“In President Trump’s defense department, they will be apologized to; they will be reinstituted with pay and rank,” he said.
The mandate ended in 2023. However, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said that members who declined to get vaccinated will not be reinstated.
Hegseth Responds to Sexual Misconduct Allegation
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) asked her usual two questions to nominees who come before committees that she serves on: whether they committed acts of sexual misconduct and if they have entered into a settlement over such incidents.
Hegseth answered in the negative to the former. Answering the latter, Hegseth said there was an allegation in 2017, but he was cleared of it.
Hegseth Vows to Prioritize Audits
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), noting the Pentagon’s recent failure to pass audits, asked Pete Hegseth what he would do to ensure the Defense Department has a “clean” audit by 2028.
Hegseth responded by promising to prioritize such audits and affirming his stance that doing so is “an issue of national security.”
American taxpayers, he said, “expect that we know where that money goes, and if that money is going somewhere that doesn’t add to tooth and instead goes to fat or tail, we need to know that; or if it’s wasted, we need to know that.”
Hegseth added that he felt prior secretaries of defense have failed to stress “the strategic prerogative of an audit.”
Hegseth Addresses Fiscal Mismanagement Allegation
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) asked Pete Hegseth about alleged fiscal mismanagement when he led veterans groups.
At Veterans for Freedom, in 2008, Hegseth raised $8.7 million but spent $9 million, resulting in a deficit, according to Blumenthal, citing tax records.
Hegseth said he is “proud” of his work at Veterans for Freedom, whose chief operating officer, in Hegseth’s words, “will attest that every dollar we raised was used intentionally toward the execution of our mission, which is supporting the warfighters.”
Blumenthal, citing tax records, said that at Concerned Veterans for America, the other organization Hegseth led, he ran a deficit, adding that the Department of Defense cannot tolerate fiscal mismanagement.
During questioning by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Hegseth said that Concerned Veterans for America stuck to its budget.
Hegseth said an audit “is a matter of national security.”
The Pentagon has never passed an audit.
Hegseth Responds to Claims of Bias
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) questioned defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth’s ability to steer the Department of Defense (DoD) without political bias.
“The statements you said about people who have views differently than you, that we’re the enemy. Are you saying that 50 percent of the DoD—if they hold liberal views or leftist views or are Democrats—are not welcome in the military?” Gillibrand asked.
Hegseth responded by pointing to his record.
“Senator, I volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan under Democrat president Barack Obama,” he noted. “I also volunteered to guard the inauguration of Joe Biden but was denied the opportunity to serve because I was identified as an extremist by my own unit for a Christian tattoo.”
Hegseth has previously said he was flagged by another service member for a cross tattoo on his chest.
In November, a member of the District of Columbia National Guard came forward with an email he sent to the unit’s leadership voicing concerns over another of Hegseth’s tattoos—the phrase “Deus Vult” tattooed on his bicep, which the service member claimed was associated with white supremacist groups. The Latin phrase translates to “God wills it.”
Hegseth responded to the accusations of white supremacy on social media, contending that they were fueled by “anti-Christian bigotry.”
Sens. Shaheen, Cotton Take Turns Questioning Hegseth on Women in Combat
Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) each took turns questioning Pete Hegseth about his view on women serving in combat roles.
Shaheen noted a comment Hegseth made in a Nov. 7 podcast interview, in which he stated: “I’m straight up saying that we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn’t made us more effective.”
She noted more recent comments Hegseth has made indicating support for women in the military, including in combat roles.
“What I’m confused about, Mr. Hegseth, is, which is it? Why should women in our military, if you were the secretary of defense, believe that they would have a fair shot and an equal opportunity to rise through the ranks?”
Hegseth said he’d be honored to work with women in the military, before Shaheen interrupted to say: “Well, I appreciate your eleventh-hour conversion” and submitted into the congressional record a copy of a chapter from one of Hegseth’s most recent book titled “The Deadly Obsession With Women Warriors.”
Shaheen next pressed Hegseth to state whether he would continue the Women, Peace, and Security initiative at the Department of Defense, if he’s confirmed. The initiative looks to expand the participation of women in foreign policy and national security decision-making.
“I will commit to reviewing that program and ensuring it aligns with America’s first national security priorities, meritocracy, lethality, and readiness,” Hegseth replied.
Cotton used part of his time to reframe the debate about women in combat, asserting women have seen combat through support roles over the years but have only changed in the past decade to allow women in specific combat specialties like infantry, artillery, and special operations.
Cotton then asked if President-elect Donald Trump has indicated any plans to close these roles off to women.
“He has not indicated to me that he has plans to change whether or not women would have access to these roles,” Hegseth said. “However, I would point out [that] ensuring that standards are equal and high is of importance to him and great importance to me.”
Hegseth said any decision to change a standard to improve a diversity metric detracts from readiness, meritocracy, and lethality.
“That’s the kind of review I’m talking about, not whether women have access to ground combat,” he said.
One Round of Questioning
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed (D-R.I.) called for two rounds of questioning, citing that past defense secretary nominees received multiple rounds of questioning when they appeared before the committee as nominees.
However, the committee’s chairman, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), said one round is adequate, which was agreed to in December.
Hegseth Addresses Allegations
Pete Hegseth addressed allegations against him, labeling them “a coordinated smear campaign orchestrated in the media” during his Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 14.
These allegations include sexual misconduct, alcohol abuse, and financial mismanagement, which he has denied.
“A small handful of anonymous sources were allowed to drive a smear campaign, an agenda about me, because our left-wing media in America today, sadly, doesn’t care about the truth,” he said.
Hegseth acknowledged that he has faults but emphasized that he is a changed man, thanks to his Christian faith and his wife, Jennifer, who was seated behind him in the chamber.
“I’m not a perfect person, as has been acknowledged. Saved by the grace of God—by Jesus and Jenny,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth Vows Military Will Be Apolitical
Hegseth pledged, in his opening statement at his Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 14, that the Department of Defense will avoid politics under his leadership.
“We will remain patriotically apolitical and stridently constitutional,” he said.
“Unlike the current administration, politics should play no part in military matters. We are not Republicans or Democrats—we are American warriors. Our standards will be high, and they will be equal, not equitable. That is a very different word.”
Hegseth’s reference to high and equal standards came after questions about his views of women serving in combat roles.
In a December 2024 interview on “The Megyn Kelly Show,” Hegseth said his focus isn’t necessarily on barring women from combat roles but ensuring standards aren’t lowered simply to make those roles more accessible to women.
“We need to make sure every warrior is fully qualified on their assigned weapon system, every pilot is fully qualified and current on the aircraft they are flying, and every general or flag officer is selected for leadership based purely on performance, readiness, and merit,” he added.
Rep. Waltz Touts Hegseth’s Qualifications
Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming national security adviser, praised Pete Hegseth’s experience on the frontlines as a unique asset to the role of secretary of defense.
“He will bring the perspective of being the first secretary of defense to have served as a junior officer on the frontlines—not in the headquarters, on the front lines—in the war on terror, and recognizes the human costs, the financial costs, and the policy drift that was discussed often in this very room that led us to decades and decades of war,” Waltz testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Waltz, a retired Green Beret, described Hegseth as “a dear friend for over a decade” who has the communication skills necessary to convey the Pentagon’s goals to the American people.
“I can’t imagine having a more capable partner in my position as national security adviser. Pete is a man of family, of faith, and he’s committed to making our country strong again,” Waltz said.
Medal of Honor Winner Backs Hegseth
Retired U.S. Army Staff Sgt. David Bellavia, a recipient of the Medal of Honor, shared a statement of support for Pete Hegseth’s defense secretary nomination, which Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) read off in his opening remarks at the Jan. 14 confirmation hearing.
Hegseth “is fearless, unflappable, and confronts conflicts head on,” Bellavia wrote. “ He’s a leader to the core.
“When Pete is confirmed as the next secretary of defense of the United States of America, this country will finally know the privilege of having a true ambassador able to speak on behalf of this generation and its two-decade global war on terror.”
Wicker described Bellavia’s statement as one of many from U.S. service members expressing support for Hegseth’s confirmation.
Bellavia worked with Hegseth at the nonprofit veteran advocacy group Vets For Freedom, which Bellavia co-founded.
Who’s Sitting with Hegseth?
Pete Hegseth is seated between two close allies who’ve helped advocate for his nomination on Capitol Hill. On Hegseth’s left sits Norm Coleman, former Republican U.S. Senator from Minnesota, and to his right sits Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) who Donald Trump has tapped to serve as his national security advisor.
Hearing Begins for Pete Hegseth
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to run the Department of Defense, entered the Senate hearing room alongside his entourage.
Trump Reiterates Support for Hegseth
Ahead of Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing, President-elect Donald Trump expressed support for the Fox News contributor.
“Pete Hegseth will make a GREAT Secretary of Defense. He has my Complete and Total support. Good luck today, Pete!” he posted on Truth Social.
Hegseth is the first of Trump’s nominees to go before the Senate.
Hegseth to Emphasize Warfighting Focus, Avoids Personal Controversies in Opening Statement
Pete Hegseth stressed, in a prepared statement before his Senate confirmation hearing that his focus, if confirmed as defense secretary, will be on improving the U.S. military’s emphasis on warfighting.
“As I’ve said to many of you in our private meetings, when President Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was — to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense,” Hegseth wrote.
“He, like me, wants a Pentagon laser-focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness. That’s it. That is my job.”
Beyond strengthening a warrior ethos, Hegseth said his objectives will be to revive the defense industry and improve the weapons acquisition process, support the U.S. military’s ongoing modernization efforts, and expand its ability to deter conflicts with near-peer nation-state actors, namely communist China.
“We can no longer count on ‘reputational deterrence’—we need real deterrence,” Hegseth wrote.
Hegseth said another objective will be to responsibly end the conflicts the United States is currently involved in so that the military can focus its attention and resources on larger threats.
Trump’s Pentagon nominee has elicited pushback over statements he’s made in opposition to women serving in combat roles, as well as an allegation he sexually assaulted a woman during an extramarital affair in 2017 and claims he drinks alcohol in excess.
Hegseth, who has denied the sexual assault allegation and the claims of alcoholism, did not mention the controversies in his prepared statement.
What to Watch
Hegseth has signaled that if he is confirmed as defense secretary, he will place a renewed focus on warfighting. In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity in December 2024, Hegseth said Trump told him to “get in there and clean out all the social justice and politically correct garbage” and “get back to lethality, warfighting, accountability, meritocracy, and readiness.”
Addressing the topic of women in combat in an early December 2024 interview on “The Megyn Kelly Show,” Hegseth said his primary focus is not on barring women from combat roles but on ensuring that standards aren’t lowered simply to make those roles easier for women to enter.
“If we have the right standard and women meet that standard, roger, let’s go,” he said. “If they can’t—and that’s a product of physical differences because the standard’s high—then that’s just the reality.”
In a Nov. 7, 2024, interview with podcast host and former Navy SEAL Shawn Ryan, Hegseth said the placement of women in combat roles so far hasn’t made the military more effective, hasn’t made the military more lethal, and has made fighting more complicated.
Seven Senate Democrats authored a Dec. 17, 2024, letter declaring that Hegseth’s comments about women in combat, as well as allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017, are disqualifying for his nomination.
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Epoch Times reporters Samantha Flom, Ryan Morgan, Jackson Richman and Ryan Morgan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
