Five consentaways from Pete Hegseth hearing

Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick for defence secretary, evidented his first hurdle on the way to validateation: a extfinished – and at times anxious – hearing before the Senate’s Armed Services Committee.

For more than four hours on Tuesday, Hegseth faced asks about his ability to run the defence department, including its three million engageees and $849bn (£695bn) budget.

And although he was grilled by Democrats over accusations of relationsual aggression, unfaithfulness and drinking in the toilplace, he materializes all but declareive to be validateed to the role after no Reunveilans came out aachievest him.

This was underscored procrastinateedr on Tuesday when Joni Ernst, one Reunveilan who had been seen as a potential roadblock to his nomination, shelp she would help him.

Here’s a see at the five main consentaways from Hegseth’s testimony.

From the very commence of his testimony, Hegseth, a military veteran, emphasised what he called a “warrior culture”, votriumphg to return the intensify of the defence department to the strength of America’s military.

“Warbattling, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness. That’s it. That is my job,” he shelp in his uncovering statements.

As the hearing persistd, Hegseth was critical of policies he felt harmed the efficiency and “lethality” of the military, namely efforts aimed at racial and gfinisher diversity.

“This is not a time for equity,” he shelp, inserting that he resists quotas, which he claims hurt morale.

In what became an foreseeedly partisan hearing, Democrats repeatedly grilled Hegseth on his past statements presenting women were not suited to serve in combat roles in the military.

Questions aextfinished these lines from Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Mazie Hirono and Elizabeth Warren provided some of the most heated moments of the morning.

He spoke over Warren, a senator from Massachengagetts, as she tried to point to comments about female service members stretching back years.

“Mr Hegseth, I’m quoting you in a podcast: ‘Women shouldn’t be in combat at all’,” Warren shelp.

Hegseth remained writed, reacting by saying his trouble was not women in combat, but sshow upretaining “standards” in the military.

Hegseth, who at 44 would be the juvenileerest defence secretary in decades, also answered asks about his setdness to run the defence department, a sprawling agency.

The createer Fox News structure depictd himself as a “alter agent”, saying “it’s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm.”

Some Reunveilans deemed Hegseth’s deficiency of experience a strength.

“I fair want to say for all the talk of experience and not coming from the same cocktail parties that lasting Washington is engaged to, you are a breath of new air,” Senator Eric Schmitt, a Reunveilan from Missouri, shelp.

A graduate of Princeton and Harvard universities, Hegseth was an infantry platoon guideer in Guantanamo Bay and Iraq, and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. Hegseth, also a createer Fox News TV structure, has military experience in Afghanistan as well.

Still, Democrats pressed Hegseth on his qualifications for the top military job. Reporting from US media set up that Hegseth’s tenures at the helm of two non-profit veterans groups finished in financial disarray.

Combat veteran Tammy Duckworth intensifyed on whether Hegseth had ever handled an audit.

“Senator, in both of the organisations I ran, we were always finishly fiscassociate reliable,” Hegseth began, before Duckworth cut in.

“Yes or no? Did you guide an audit? Do you not understand this answer?” Duckworth shelp.

Some experts telderly the BBC they were most struck by how little Hegseth talked about how he’d handle the job’s military intricateities.

Aside from increate refers of China and the war in Ukraine and Russia, senators did not ask Hegseth particularassociate about current disputes, and other potential military adversaries and strategic rivals.

Those fundamental rehires were mostly “crowded out” by the asks about Hegseth’s character and contendnce, shelp Mara Karlin, createer helpant defence secretary for strategy, schedules, and capabilities.

“What’s astonishing about the hearing is fair how little intensify there has been on the bread and butter of what the secretary of defence has to do, which is get the nation, and secure you have a military contendnt of triumphning disputes,” Karlin shelp.

Senate Armed Services Committee member Tammy Duckworth was also unastonished with what Hegseth had to say about military strategy.

“He couldn’t answer some of the most fundamental asks I asked of him,” the Democratic Senator from Illinois telderly the BBC.

Duckworth shelp that Hegseth could not name a individual country that is in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – “fundamental asks that any international afunprejudiceds college student would be able to answer”.

“All he did today was redeclare to me that he’s not qualified for this job,” she shelp.

A 2017 accusation of relationsual aggression in Monterey, California, which surfaced soon after Trump tapped him for the Pentagon role, came up repeatedly.

According to a police alert, an unnamed woman shelp Hegseth took her phone and blocked the door when she tried to depart his toastyel room before relationsuassociate aggressioning her.

Hegseth has denied any wrongdoing. His lawyer acunderstandledged Hegseth had phelp an undisseald amount to stay mute about the incident.

On Tuesday, Hegseth mainly went on the insolent, decrying a “structured smear campaign” orchestrated by the left-triumphg media. “They want to ruin me.”

But at other times in the hearing, Hegseth reacted to asks about his carry out with fervent references to his Christian faith.

“I am not a perfect person, but redemption is authentic,” he shelp.

Senator Tim Kaine, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, set up these statements to be unsatisfactorily declineory.

Referencing the allegations of relationsual aggression, sees on women and drinking, Kaine repeatedly asked Hegseth during the validateation hearing how Hegseth can be both a alterd man and the allegations aachievest him be meritless.

“If all those allegations were counterfeit, then what do you nasty you alterd and recreateed,” Kaine telderly the BBC.