Wednesday Briefing: A Major U.S. Senate Hearing
Briefing|Wednesday Briefing: A Major U.S. Senate Hearing
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/14/briefing/hagseth-hearing-los-angeles-fires-israel-hamas.html
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Trump’s defense pick faced a divided Senate hearing
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, faced hours of questioning yesterday during his Senate confirmation hearing. A vote to decide whether he will lead the Pentagon — a department with three million employees and an $849 billion budget — could come as soon as Monday. Read more.
Republicans largely defended Hegseth. Democrats questioned him about sexual misconduct allegations — Hegseth was accused of rape in 2017 — and his drinking habits. They also called him unfit to lead the Pentagon, and grilled Hegseth, a former Fox News host, on his long history of disparaging comments about women in the military.
A key Republican, Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, a veteran and a sexual assault survivor, appeared satisfied with his responses to her questions about the role of women in the military and sexual assault prevention. Ernst, who is seen as critical to Hegseth’s confirmation chances, spent much of her time focusing on their agreement that the Pentagon should be audited.
Quotable: Hegseth described himself as a changed man and a redemption story, and he dismissed the allegations against him as a “smear campaign.”
“Have you overcome personal issues or are you the target of a smear campaign?” Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, a Democrat, asked. “You can’t be both.”
What’s next: It was unclear whether Hegseth left the hearing with the votes he needs to be confirmed. If all Senate Democrats oppose him, Hegseth will have to secure the backing of at least 50 of the 53 Republicans in the chamber.