Four takeaways from Hegseth’s confirmation hearing

Pete Hegseth’s four-hour hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday was remarkably contentious. Democrats derided him as unqualified to oversee the Defense Department’s three million employees and $849 billion budget. Republicans acknowledged he was an unconventional choice, but suggested he might be just what the Pentagon needs.

Here are four takeaways from the hearing:

Hegseth looks like he has the votes to get out of committee.

Despite all the fireworks surrounding the case, it appears that Mr. Hegseth has the votes he needs to advance. None of his answers seemed to upset the Republicans who control the committee.

A vote is scheduled for Monday.

A signal of how things would go for him came early in questions from Sen. Joni Ernst, Republican of Iowa. Her voice is considered key, as she is a veteran and has also campaigned for greater protections against sexual assault in the military.

Just six weeks ago, Mrs. Ernst expressed reservations towards Mr. Hegseth’s qualifications. Since then, she has been the subject of intense lobbying by conservative groups on his behalf.

She has yet to say which way she will vote, but she spent her time at the hearing mostly helping him.

She pressed him repeatedly on the importance of auditing the Pentagon – a relatively safe topic. She also urged him to repeat promises she said he had made to her privately to appoint a senior officer to strengthen her previous work to prevent sexual assault and rape in the military.

Her relatively gentle question suggests that Mr. Hegseth is on track to win confirmation by the full Senate, barring new developments.

Hegseth depicted his life as a story of redemption.

Mr. Hegseth repeatedly declined to say whether an allegation of sexual assault or excessive drinking or adultery should disqualify someone from leading the Pentagon. Nor did he promise that he would resign if he were to break his vow not to drink, if confirmed.

In general, he sidestepped specific allegations about his personal conduct, claiming only that he had been the victim of false allegations from anonymous sources, circulated by media organizations that he said were determined to destroy him.

“I’m not a perfect person, but redemption is real.” he said at one point. He also said, “I have failed in things in my life and fortunately I am redeemed by my lord and savior Jesus.”

The one senator who seemed to get under his skin was Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia. Mr. Kaine pressed him on the allegation that he raped a woman in 2017 in Monterey, California, while he was married to his second wife and two months after his girlfriend, now his third wife, gave birth to his child.

The episode resulted in no criminal charges. Mr. Hegseth, who said the meeting was consensual, paid the woman an undisclosed amount in a settlement.

“So you think you’re completely cleared because you didn’t commit any crime?” Mr. Kaine demanded. “How do you explain your judgment?”

He faced fierce questions about his views on women in combat.

Some of the toughest questions were about Mr. Hegseth’s earlier statements that women should not serve in combat roles. Democratic senators accused him of modulating these views solely in the hope of winning a cabinet post.

Mr. Hegseth said: “Yes, women will have access to combat roles on the ground as the standards remain high and we will have a review to ensure the standards have not been eroded.”

Female Democrats in particular attacked him over his earlier comments. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York sounded particularly angry, saying his comments were “brutal and they’re mean and they don’t respect the men and women who are willing to die for this country.”

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire, questioned whether women would have a fair shot at promotion if he led the Pentagon, given his previous proposals to make the military a less lethal force. He said they would.

Republicans praised his communication skills, honed as a television anchor.

Mr. Hegseth and his Republican allies on the panel argued that his lack of experience compared to previous defense secretaries would be a plus.

Mr. Hegseth said: “As President Trump also told me, we have repeatedly placed people at the top of the Pentagon with supposedly the right credentials, whether they are retired generals, academics or heads of defense contractors. And where has that gotten us? “

Republican senators praised his skills as a mediator. After running two small nonprofit organizations, both of which ended up in debt, Mr. Hegseth weekend anchor on “Fox & Friends” for seven years.

During the hearing, he generally spoke confidently and typically revealed few signs of being rattled.

Democrats said his lack of experience showed in his response.

Senator Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois who is also a veteran, gave him a kind of foreign affairs question and asked him to name the countries of ASEAN – the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He couldn’t do that. At another point, she told him, “Do some homework” before such sessions.