Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Secretary of Defense, faced tough questions during his Senate confirmation hearing.
He told senators on Tuesday that he would restore accountability and "warrior character" to the country's military, A2 reports.
Mr. Hegseth had his supporters and critics within the Senate Armed Services Committee.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Hegeseth did not address the allegations of sexual abuse, excessive alcohol use, or his derogatory views on the role of women and minorities in the military. He focused on his experience in the military as a former war veteran.
" It's time to hand the reins to someone who has been on the battlefield, a person who will deliver change ," Mr. Hegseth said in his opening remarks.
Asked directly about the sexual assault allegations, Mr. Hegseth dismissed them as a "smear campaign."
But prompted by personal questions between them and the infidelity, Mr. Hegseth said that "he was not a perfect man."
Senators spent hours questioning Mr. Hegseth. The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican Senator Roger Wicker, acknowledged that Mr. Hegseth's selection to head the Pentagon was an "unusual" choice, while Democrats raised concerns about what they called "extremely alarming" allegations against him.
Senator Wicker compared Mr. Hegseth to Mr. Trump himself. He dismissed the various accusations against him as baseless and said he would "bring energy and new ideas that shake up the bureaucracy" at the Pentagon.
But Democratic Senator Jack Reed said Mr Hegseth is "unqualified to meet the strong demands of the position" of defence secretary.
Mr. Hegseth was largely unknown on Capitol Hill when Mr. Trump appointed him to the most important post in the Pentagon.
He has worked as a journalist for the Fox News television network since 2014 and apparently caught the eye of the president-elect, an avid consumer of television programs and news.
Mr. Hegseth, 44, was educated at the prestigious Princeton University and served in the Army National Guard from 2002 to 2021, deploying to Iraq in 2005 and Afghanistan in 2011. He has been awarded two medals of valor by the Armed Forces for his military service. But he lacks experience running a large institution like the Pentagon and in the field of national security.
Mr. Trump has come to his defense, saying Mr. Hegseth has his "full support" in a tweet early Tuesday morning.
The hearing marked the beginning of a week-long marathon as senators will scrutinize Mr. Trump's picks for more than 12 top positions in his administration.
Mr. Hegseth faces perhaps the toughest road to confirmation in the Senate, but Republican allies are determined to turn Mr. Hegseth's case into a cause célèbre for Mr. Trump's governing approach, amid the country's culture wars.
Outside groups, including those affiliated with the Heritage Foundation, a think tank that supports conservative policies, have mounted costly campaigns to support Mr. Hegseth's nomination.
"He will be hit, he will be scorned, but he will be talked about," said Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville, at a meeting with former representatives of the Army and Navy special forces, who support his nomination.
" We will manage to confirm it ," he added.
In the audience during the hearing, there were people wearing clothing that showed support for those serving in the military, but there were also protesters who interrupted the hearing at one point, but left the hall.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said Hegseth had made "a major turnaround in his positions in a short period of time" since Mr. Trump picked him to serve as Defense Secretary.
"For 12 years, you were quite outspoken about your views, and your views were consistently the same: women are inferior soldiers. Then on November 9, 2024, just 32 days after your last public comments saying that women absolutely should not engage in combat, you declared that 'some of our greatest warriors are women,'" Senator Warren said Tuesday.
In a heated exchange, Democratic Senator Kristen Gillibrand told Mr. Hegseth that he needed to change the way he viewed the role of women in the military.
Responding to comments from Senators Warren and Gillibrand, Mr. Hegseth promised that during his term, women would serve in the military and in ground operations, on the battlefield. He said the military "has been at the forefront of bold initiatives for racial integration."
But he added that modern diversity and inclusion policies "divide" the corps and do not prioritize "meritocracy."
Nominees for members of the President's Cabinet must receive a majority of votes to be confirmed. The US Senate is made up of 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents. (A2 Televizion)
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