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Democratic senators skewered Pete Hegseth over his views on women in the military, warning that he would “have to change” if he is confirmed as defense secretary.
President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Pentagon was grilled by the Senate’s Committee on Armed Services on Tuesday and was challenged over his “denigrating” comments about women in the military by members Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire.
Hegseth has previously said that women should not serve in combat roles, they have made fighting “more complicated,” and that women “cannot physically meet the same standards as men.”
“You will have to change how you see women to do this job well, and I don’t know if you are capable,” Gillibrand, who has been an outspoken voice for ending sexual assault in the military, told Hegseth in a fiery exchange.
“I have many concerns about your record and particularly your public statements because they are so hurtful to the men and women who are currently serving in the U.S. military. Harmful to morale, harmful to good order and discipline,” Gillibrand said.
The senator blasted Hegseth for a previous comment he made about mothers serving in the military.
“Dads push us to take risks,” Hegseth said in his book The War on Warriors. “Moms put the training wheels on our bikes. We need moms. But not in the military, especially in combat units,” he wrote.
“What’s wrong with a mom?” Gillibrand asked. “I mean, you’re basically saying women after they have children can’t ever serve in the military in a combat role. It’s a silly thing to say. It’s a silly thing to say beneath the position that you are aspiring to.”
Gillibrand echoed criticism made by fellow Democrats on the committee that she was “equally as distressed” that Hegseth would not meet with her before the hearing.
The Fox News host earlier received a grilling from committee member Shaheen, who called out Hegseth for changing his views on women in the military after he was named as Trump’s pick for defense secretary.
“Why should women in our military believe that they would have a fair shot and an equal opportunity to rise through the ranks if, on the one hand, you say that women are not competent, they make our military less effective, and on the other hand, you say, ‘Oh no, now that I’ve been nominated to be the secretary of defense, I’ve changed my view on women in the military?’” Shaheen asked.
“I would say I would be honored to have the opportunity to serve alongside you, shoulder to shoulder, men and women, black, white, all backgrounds with a shared purpose,” Hegseth replied. “Our differences are not what define us.”
Shaheen retorted: “I appreciate your eleventh-hour conversion.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren, who ahead of today’s hearing wrote to Hegseth with more than 100 questions she had for him, shared Shaheen’s concern. Warren referred to a recent comment Hegseth made on a podcast where he said the nation’s military “should not have women in combat roles.”
“What extraordinary event happened in that 32-day period that made you change the core values you had expressed for the preceding 12 years?”
“I’ve heard of death bed conversions. But this is the first time I’ve heard of a nomination conversion,” Warren added.
Hegseth also attempted to put up a fight with Senator Maisie Hirono, who asked him about the sexual assault allegation from 2017, which he denies.
The 44-year-old said he was “falsely accused in October 2017” and “completely cleared.”
“I don’t think ‘completely cleared’ is accurate,” Hirono replied.
