Trump's Pentagon pick testifies amid sexual assault, alcohol abuse charges Pete Hegseth

Donald Trump's controversial pick for U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, attended a Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday after the veteran and Fox News host was found guilty of sexual assault, excessive drinking and financial mismanagement.

Assuming every Democratic senator opposes his nomination, Hegseth could only lose the votes of three Senate Republicans, and several Republicans have expressed concerns about Hegseth's personal history and his views on women in the military. .

Roger Wicker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, acknowledged the criticism of Hegers in his opening remarks at the hearing.

“Mr. Hegseth admitted that he fell short, as we all do from time to time,” Wick said. “It is important to note that the vast majority of the allegations against Mr. Hegseth come from anonymous sources. Contrast these anonymous accusations with the many public letters of support and praise.”

In 2017, Hegseth was accused of sexually assaulting a woman who said he took her cell phone and blocked her hotel room door to prevent her from leaving, according to police reports. Hegseth has denied the allegation, although his attorney acknowledged that the woman had received a settlement.

An explosive report in The New Yorker also outlined claims that Hegseth would often get so drunk at work events that he would need assistance from co-workers to get home. A whistleblower further accused Hegseth of using official funds from Concerned America's Veterans, a nonprofit he previously headed, for “personal expense accounts.”

Hegseth has created more problems for himself by suggesting that women should not serve in combat roles and attacking the inclusion of gay troops in the military as part of a “Marxist agenda,” although he has backtracked on those comments in recent weeks.

Hegseth rebutted the criticism in an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal last month, writing: “This is textbook media suppression. They provide no evidence, no names, and they ignore speaking for me. They needed to create a bogeyman because they believed I was a threat to their institution.”

Despite the controversy surrounding Hegseth's nomination, Trump's Republican allies in the Senate expressed confidence in his chances of confirmation. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican, reportedly told Trump that Hegseth would receive the votes to be confirmed.

“The meeting went very well. Things are moving in the right direction,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso told CBS News on Sunday. “People will listen and make their own decisions.”

But Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said his meeting with Hegseth last week failed to convince him that the nominee is qualified to lead the country's largest government agency.

“Mr. Hegseth, I do not believe you are qualified to meet the overwhelming requirements of this job,” Reed said in his opening statement at the hearing. “In fact, the entirety of your own writings and alleged conduct would disqualify any service member from holding any leadership position in the military, let alone being confirmed as Secretary of Defense.”

Ahead of the hearing, Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent Hegseth a 33-page letter containing 72 questions about his personal history and views on the military. , which could foreshadow a contentious hearing on Tuesday.

“I am deeply concerned that your past actions and statements indicate in many ways that you are unfit to lead the Department of Defense,” Warren wrote. “Confirming you to serve as Secretary of Defense would be detrimental to our national security and disrespectful of the willingness to serve our country.” Soldiers of all types who have made sacrifices.”

More broadly, Democrats have expressed anger over the way Republicans have handled confirmation hearings, accusing them of trying to “rush” the process to clear the way for Trump's Cabinet nominees.

“The American people deserve to know whether President-elect Trump's Cabinet nominees will fight for them,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a speech last week. “It’s hard not to wonder: What are Republicans trying to hide from the American people about these nominees?”

Several of Trump's Cabinet nominees will have Senate confirmation hearings in the coming days before the president-elect is sworn in on Monday.