Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth on Tuesday denied allegations that he engaged in excessive drinking at work events, tried to walk back his statement that he does not want women in combat roles, and refused to say whether he would comply if President-elect Donald Trump orders him to deploy the military domestically.
During the hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, several senators grilled Hegseth over allegations about his personal character.
“One of your colleagues said that you got drunk at an event at a bar and chanted, ‘Kill all Muslims!’” Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, said to Hegseth.
“Anonymous false charges,” Hegseth said, a frequent response to concerns about his character, including an allegation that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017.
Senators also asked Hegseth about him previously saying women should not serve in U.S. military combat roles. In the past, he argued women in combat roles “hasn’t made us more effective” and instead have “made fighting more complicated.” Hegseth had contended that women should not be in special operations, artillery, infantry, and armor units.
“Women cannot physically meet the same standards as men,” Hegseth said in his book “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.”
“We don’t want women in the military, especially in combat — do not deny that you’ve made those statements. You have,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat from New York, said during the hearing, questioning him about his past statements.
Hegseth countered by arguing he takes issue with the “standards” for men and women in the military.
“It’s not about the capabilities of men and women; it’s about standards,” he said. “Standards that we, unfortunately, over time, have seen eroded.”
Hegseth also refused to say whether he would comply with a potential Trump order to deploy active-duty military members inside the U.S. or to order them to shoot protesters in the legs — something Trump reportedly wanted during his first term but was denied by his Defense Sec. Mark Esper.
“Would you carry out an order to shoot protesters in the legs?” asked Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaii.
“I saw 50 Secret Service agents get injured by rioters trying to jump over a statue —”
“You know what, that sounds to me that you will comply with such an order,” Hirono said.
“Have you been involved in discussions about using the active-duty military inside the United States?” Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat from Michigan, asked the former Fox News host.
“I am not yet the Secretary of Defense,” Hegseth responded.
