Five takeaways from Pete Hegseth’s hearing

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

For more than four hours on Tuesday, Hegsett faced questions about his ability to run the MoD, including its three million staff and $849bn (£695bn) budget. And even though it was criticized by Democrats over allegations of sexual abuse, infidelity and drinking on the job, most Republicans on the committee seem to support him.

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

Here’s a look at the five main takeaways from Hegseth’s testimony.

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

“Wars, Mortality, Meritocracy, Standards and Preparedness. That’s it. This is my job,” he said in his opening remarks.

As the hearing continued, Hegseth was critical of policies he believed harmed the military’s effectiveness and “lethality,” namely efforts to address racial and gender diversity.

“This is not a time for fairness,” he said, adding that he was opposed to quotas, which he said hurt morale.

In what has become an anticipated partisan hearing, Democrats repeatedly criticized Hegseth for his past statements that women are unfit for combat roles in the military.

Questions along these lines from Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Maisie Hirono and Elizabeth Warren provided some of the most heated moments of the morning.

He was talking about Warren, a senator from Massachusetts, as she tried to point out comments about servicewomen dating back years.

“Mr. Hegseth, I quote you on a podcast: ‘Women shouldn’t be in combat at all,'” Warren said.

Hegsett remained calm, responding by saying his concern was not women in combat, but simply 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 growing 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 in their boots.”

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

“I just want to say, for all the talk of experience and not coming from the same cocktails that the Washington regulars are 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 Hegseth about his qualifications for the top military post. U.S. media reports found that Hegseth’s tenures at the helm of two veteran nonprofits groups ended in financial chaos.

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

“Senator, in both organizations that I’ve run, we’ve always been completely fiscally responsible,” Hegseth began, before Duckworth cut him off.

“Yes or no? Have you audited? Don’t you know that answer?” Duckworth said.

Some experts told the BBC they were most struck by how little Hegseth said about how he would handle the military complexities of the job.

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

Those fundamental questions were mostly “pushed out” by questions about Hegseth’s character and competence, said Mara Carlin, former assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans and capabilities.

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

2017 sexual assault allegation in Monterey, Calif., which came up soon after Trump tapped him for the Pentagon role, has come up repeatedly.

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

Hegseth has denied any wrongdoing. His lawyer admitted that Hegseth paid an undisclosed sum to keep quiet about the incident.

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

But at other points in the hearing, Hegseth answered questions about his behavior with impassioned references to his Christian faith.

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