Trump’s Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth to testify at Senate confirmation hearing

Pete Hegseth, US President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Pentagon, will appear before a Senate panel on Tuesday for his confirmation hearing, where he is expected to face scrutiny over allegations ranging from sexual assault to excessive drinking in the workplace.

Hegseth has denied all accusations and made several trips to Capitol Hill to shore up support since he was announced as Trump’s pick in November, including meeting with senators as recently as last week, News.Az reports, citing CNN.

But it’s unclear as of Tuesday whether the veteran and former Fox News host has managed to convince the Senate Armed Services Committee so that his nomination can be referred to the full chamber for a vote.

In his opening statement obtained by CNN, Hegseth is expected to tell the committee that he wishes to restore a “warrior culture” to the Defense Department. The remarks do not address questions about Hegseth’s personal life.

“It is true that I don’t have a similar biography to Defense Secretaries of the last 30 years,” Hegseth is expected to say. “But, as President Trump also told me, we’ve repeatedly placed people atop the Pentagon with supposedly ‘the right credentials’ —whether they are retired generals, academics, or defense contractor executives—and where has it gotten us? He believes, and I humbly agree, that it’s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm.”

Trump has defended his pick amid the allegations and in December said he remained confident that Hegseth will be confirmed. However, CNN has reported the Trump transition team has compiled a list of potential alternatives should Hegseth falter.

Hegseth is a decorated combat veteran who was deployed in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, Iraq and Afghanistan. He has earned two Bronze Star Medals for his service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He went on to lead two veteran advocacy nonprofits, Vets for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America, and joined Fox News as a contributor in 2014, eventually becoming a co-host of the weekend “Fox & Friends” show.

Trump considered Hegseth for a Cabinet position during his first term, including Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and though he was ultimately passed over, Hegseth remained in Trump’s orbit. He acted as an informal adviser to Trump for a number of years while he was in and out of office, Trump advisers told CNN.

As a Fox News host, Hegseth made $4.6 million, according to his financial disclosure, which covered the past two years. He left the role in November amid his announcement as Trump’s pick for defense secretary. Hegseth also made approximately $1 million on speaking fees across dozens of engagements in 2023 and 2024, many of which were at conservative or Christian organizations, and brought in royalties from three books he has written.

According to the financial disclosure, Hegseth held stock in several major defense contractors as well, including Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Honeywell. The value of the assets was relatively small, listed between $1,001 and $15,000 for each of the companies. Hegseth also held between $15,001 and $50,000 of Bitcoin.

Hegseth was accused by a woman of sexually assaulting her in October 2017 following a speaking engagement at a conference held by a Republican women’s group in Monterey, California.

According to a police report obtained by CNN, the woman told police that Hegseth physically blocked her from leaving a hotel room, took her phone and then sexually assaulted her even though she “remembered saying ‘no’ a lot.” Hegseth told police that their encounter was consensual and that he had repeatedly made sure the woman “was comfortable with what was going on between the two of them.”

Hegseth was not charged with a crime in connection with the allegation. In response to the reporting of the police report, his lawyer Tim Parlatore told CNN that the “police found the allegations to be false, which is why no charges were filed,”— although the report does not say that police found the allegations to be false.

Hegseth continues to deny any wrongdoing and maintains that the encounter was consensual.

News.Az