President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Defense secretary is publicly facing senators for the first time after weeks of questions from Democrats — and praise from Republicans — about his “unconventional” resume.
Pete Hegseth, a former combat veteran and TV news show host, says he will be a “change agent” and a “warrior” for the department as Republicans demand new and strong leadership in the Pentagon. Democrats say Hegseth’s lack of experience, his past comments about women and Black troops and allegations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct, make him unfit to serve.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., called Hegseth’s nomination to lead the Defense Department “unconventional” but compared him to Trump, and said that may just be what makes him an “excellent choice.”
Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Hegseth lacks “the character and the competence” to lead the Pentagon. Reed he has voted to confirm the nine previous Defense secretaries, including in Trump’s first term, but will not support Hegseth.
His confirmation would be an “an insult to the men and women who have sworn to uphold their own apolitical duty to the Constitution,” Reed said.
