Five takeaways from Pete Hegsett’s hearing

Pete Hegsett, Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, has cleared his first confirmation hurdle: a lengthy — and at times tense — hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

For more than four hours on Tuesday, Hegseth faced questions about his ability to run the MoD, including its three million staff and $849bn (£695bn) budget. And although he was Democrats were accused of sexual violence, infidelity and drinking on the job, most Republicans on the committee seemed to support him.

Democratic opposition in the deeply divided Senate means Hegseth can afford to lose just three Republican votes and still be confirmed.

Here’s a look at five key takeaways from Hegsett’s testimony.

From the very beginning of his testimony, Hegseth, a military veteran, emphasized what he called a “militant Pentagon,” promising to return the Defense Department’s focus to the strength of the American military.

“Military Action, Mortality, Meritocracy, Standards, and Readiness. That’s all. This is my job,” he said in his opening remarks.

During the hearings, Hegseth was highly critical of policies that he believes have harmed the military’s effectiveness and “lethality,” namely racial and gender diversity efforts.

“This is not the time for fairness,” he said, adding that he opposes quotas, which he says are damaging to morale.

In what was expected to be a partisan hearing, Democrats repeatedly criticized Hegsett over his past statements that women were unfit to serve in the military.

These questions from Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Maisie Hirona and Elizabeth Warren were among the hottest moments of the morning.

He spoke to Warren, the Massachusetts senator, when she tried to point out comments about women in the military that go back years.

“Mr. Hegseth, I quote you on the podcast, ‘Women shouldn’t be fighting at all,'” Warren said.

Hegseth remained calm, replying that his concern was not about women in combat, but simply about maintaining “standards” in the military.

Hegseth, who at 44 will be the youngest defense secretary in decades, also answered questions about his readiness to lead the Defense Department, a sprawling agency.

The former Fox News anchor described himself as an “agent of change,” saying “it’s time to give the reins to someone with dust on their boots.”

Some Republicans saw Hegsett’s lack of experience as a strength.

“I just want to say that for all the talk of experience and not the same cocktail that regular Washington is used to, you are a breath of fresh air,” said Sen. Eric Schmidt, Republican of Missouri.

A graduate of Princeton and Harvard universities, Hegseth served as an infantry platoon leader at Guantanamo Bay and Iraq and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. Hegseth, also a former Fox News anchor, also has military experience in Afghanistan.

Still, Democrats pressed Hegsett on his qualifications for the top military post. US media reports indicated that Hegsett’s tenure at the helm of the two nonprofit veterans groups ended in financial disarray.

Combat veteran Tammy Duckworth focused on whether Hegseth ever led an audit.

“Senator, in both organizations that I’ve run, we’ve always been fully fiscally responsible,” Hegseth began, before Duckworth interrupted.

“Yes or no? Did you audit? You don’t know that answer?” Duckworth said.

Some experts told the BBC that they were most struck by how little Hegseth said about how to deal with the military complexity of the job.

Aside from brief mentions of China and the war in Ukraine and Russia, senators did not ask Hegseth specifically about current conflicts or other potential military adversaries and strategic rivals.

Those fundamental questions have largely been “superseded” by questions about Hegsett’s character and competence, said Mara Carlin, former assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans and capabilities.

“What’s surprising about the hearings is how little attention was paid to the bread and butter of what the secretary of defense is supposed to do, which is to protect the nation and ensure that we have a military capable of winning conflicts,” Carlin said.

The 2017 Monterey, Calif., sexual assault allegation, which surfaced shortly after Trump nominated him for the Pentagon post, has come up repeatedly.

According to the police report, the unnamed woman said Hegseth took her phone and locked the door as she tried to leave his hotel room before sexually assaulting her.

Hegseth has pleaded not guilty. His lawyer admitted that Hegseth paid an undisclosed sum to keep quiet about the incident.

On Tuesday, Hegseth went largely on the offensive, denouncing a “coordinated smear campaign” by the left-wing media. “They want to destroy me.”

But at other times during the hearing, Hegseth responded to questions about his behavior with impassioned references to his Christian faith.

“I’m not a perfect person, but redemption is real,” he said.