What to know about the Senate hearing
- Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for defense secretary, heard heated questions and praise from Republicans today at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
- Democrats grilled Hegseth about his comments on women in the military, an allegation of sexual assault and claims of excessive drinking and other workplace misconduct. Hegseth denied the assault allegation, in which he was not charged, and he called the other misconduct claims "anonymous smears."
- Republicans largely seemed to indicate support for Hegseth. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, seen as a key vote, began her questioning by introducing a letter from a Hegseth supporter and gave him a chance to explain his comments about women. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., accused Democrats of pushing a double standard and then suggested that some senators drink on the job.
Trump's incoming national security adviser praises Hegseth's 'warrior ethos'
Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., Trump’s incoming national security adviser, praised Hegseth's “warrior ethos” and said he has support from various parts of the U.S. military community.
“It’s that warrior ethos of why you saw so many veterans, so many [Navy] SEALs, Green Berets and people who love our military, even Gold Star families, sitting in the audience today, standing room only outside, cheering him,” Waltz said on Fox News this afternoon.
“He can communicate so well to the American people," Waltz said, adding that Hegseth can articulate "why we need what we need for our troops, and that is a critical piece that President Trump values, as well.”
Hegseth was met with a friendly reception from Senate Republicans at his hearing today before the Armed Services Committee, which signaled it would get behind Hegseth, Trump’s embattled nominee to be defense secretary.
Hegseth came into the hearing with a cloud of controversies hanging over his nomination, including allegations of excessive drinking and sexual assault, which he has denied, and past remarks that women shouldn’t serve in combat, which he has walked back.
But after he was questioned for more than four hours today, Republicans came away feeling optimistic that Hegseth, a former Fox News host and Army combat veteran, would be confirmed to lead the Pentagon. The GOP controls 53 Senate seats and will need 50 senators to secure his confirmation.
Schumer says Hegseth 'woefully unfit' to lead Pentagon
Senate Democrats expressed deep concern about Hegseth’s nomination and hearing performance at a leadership news conference this afternoon.
“He is, by all accounts, woefully unfit to be secretary of defense, so much so that my colleague Senator Reed requested to allow all committee members to review all FBI background documents,” said Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York.
Schumer criticized Wicker, the committee’s chair, for rejecting Reed’s request: “What’s he afraid of? What are they afraid of?”
“If Mr. Hegseth had nothing to hide, and if Republicans do indeed think he’s qualified and ready for one of the most consequential jobs in the country, why is the chairman hell-bent to keep all relevant information out of the hands of his colleagues?” Schumer said.
Referring to the movie “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story,” Schumer jokingly described Hegseth’s confirmation strategy as following the “5 Ds of Dodgeball: dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge.”
Reed called Hegseth "probably the least qualified individual ever suggested to be the secretary of defense in my tenure, perhaps in the history of the country. "
Kristi Noem’s confirmation hearing postponed
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s confirmation hearing to be secretary of homeland security has also been postponed, according to a committee spokesperson.
The confirmation hearing was scheduled for 9 a.m. tomorrow but it has been moved to 9 a.m. Friday. It wasn't immediately clear why.
Noem's confirmation hearing is the third that has been postponed this week.
A hearing scheduled for today for former Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., Trump’s pick for secretary of veterans affairs, was postponed because his FBI file would not be available for review by Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and ranking member Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., in time, according to a source with direct knowledge.
Former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum’s confirmation hearing to be interior secretary, which was also supposed to be today, was postponed until Thursday, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Mike Lee, R-Utah, said in a statement. Democrats on the committee expressed frustration with Lee for issuing notice of the hearing without the consent of the minority party or without the standard paperwork.
Fact check: Army recruiting numbers haven't surged since Trump's election
Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., said during his questioning of Hegseth that Army recruiting has surged since Trump was elected in November — a claim Hegseth agreed with.
This is false.
Army recruiting is doing better now than at this time last year, but that is largely because of the delayed entry program (people who signed up in 2024 but did not ship until 2025).
More than 11,000 soldiers included in current recruiting numbers were from delayed entry.
Another major factor was the future soldier prep course: Thousands more joined that program months or even years ago to be ready to join when eligible.
Both groups signed up before Trump was elected, not as a result of his being elected, and they have helped Army recruiting numbers exceed last year’s numbers.
Fact check: There isn't mandated DEI training in the Navy
During his questioning of Hegseth, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., asked about diversity initiatives in the military, alleging that the Navy had mandated "DEI" training.
“Met with a couple of Navy SEALs not too long ago, they just got back from crawling around in the mud and the muck overseas, unknown places. Couldn’t tell you where they’ve been carrying a weapon, obviously protecting us and our allies. And the first week they’re back, what do they do? They had to go through a week of DEI training. Both are now out," Tuberville said.
Tuberville's claim is false.
Navywide, mandated “diversity” training does not exist. Naval Special Warfare Command is not aware of the training Tuberville described.
Top military leaders addressed various related claims last year, debunking them factually during congressional hearings.
Fact check: No, Army commanders don't have quotas for women in combat
One of several strong exchanges about women in combat was when Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., pushed Hegseth about women in combat.
Hegseth alleged that standards have been lowered in infantry units and that commanders are required to meet quotas for how many women are in those units.
Gillibrand fired back: "Commanders do not have to have a quota for women in the infantry. That does not exist."
Hegseth's allegation is, in fact, false.
Responding to questions on the topic from NBC News, an Army spokesperson said, “No, the Army has integrated female soldiers of all ranks into all units and occupational specialties without quotas.”
The spokesperson said men and women have to meet the same standards to qualify for combat roles. When combat roles were opened to women, the military did an exhaustive study of what is needed for various roles and established standards everyone has to meet. Men and women have the same standards, and women are not allowed into units if they do not meet them. (Men are not, either.)
Kaine roasts Republican senators over typo
As the hearing wrapped up, Kaine poked fun at Republican senators on X for a typo on a placard about “DEI in our miltary.”
“GOP members complaining about reduction of military standards while using a chart that misspells the word military!” Kaine wrote.
Senate majority leader says Hegseth made 'a strong argument' for his confirmation
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that Hegseth made “a strong argument” for why he should be confirmed.
"If he’s reported out of the committee, we will work quickly to get him across the floor, obviously, because that is a key, critical, important national security position that needs to be filled," Thune said.
When asked about whether he had any concerns about allegations of sexual assault against Hegseth, Thune said that he thought "he's addressed those allegations."
"I didn’t see all of it. I saw pieces of it, but every report I’ve had, the readout from the hearing this morning is that he did,” Thune said.
In terms of how quickly he plans to bring Trump's nominees to the floor, Thune said he hopes there will be “some level” of cooperation from his Democratic colleagues to get national security nominees confirmed quickly, especially ones who have bipartisan support, like Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state.
X becomes public forum for Hegseth hearing reactions
A flurry of Trump supporters, staffers and congressional Republicans posted on X during the hearing to offer support for Hegseth or drag Democratic senators for their questions.
After Kaine, D-Va., grilled Hegseth over allegations of infidelity and sexual assault, Trump campaign adviser Alex Bruesewitz took to X to drag Kaine, reminding his followers that Kaine was Hillary Clinton’s running mate in the 2016 presidential election and “had no qualms about Bill Clinton’s history of infidelity or allegations of sexual abuse.” Brusewitz called Kaine’s fiery line of questioning a “sanctimonious performance” of “theatrical hypocrisy.”
Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro posted, "I look forward to Hegseth ejecting careerist staffers from DOD the same way the protesters are being ejected from his hearing." The comment referred to several protesters who were removed from the hearing room after they shouted criticisms of the U.S. handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
David Marcus, an author and opinion columnist at Fox News, posted a photo of Kaine onstage with Hillary and Bill Clinton during the 2016 campaign cycle, with the caption repeating allegations of assault against the former president, which he has denied.
Marcus also posted that Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who lost both her legs while she was serving in Iraq, looked “ridiculous” while she was questioning Hegseth. “It’s like a Monty Python sketch,” Marcus wrote.
On the other side of the aisle, some praised Democratic senators for their pointed questions.
Tyler Cohen, host of the "No Lie" podcast, posted a video on X of Kaine’s questioning, saying: “If you watch one thing today, it should be this video of Tim Kaine utterly decimating Pete Hegseth.”