- Donald Trump picked Hegseth as his nominee to lead the Department of Defense
- Hegseth was at the Capitol this week to lobby Senators on his confirmation
Pete Hegseth has spent the last two days on Capitol Hill defending himself against reporters confronting him about past controversies as he seeks to shore up support for his confirmation in the next administration.
Hegseth quipped at the journalists following him around the Capitol – including a Fox News reporter who was his colleague just a few weeks ago.
Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Defense Department was faced with questions over his past comments about precluding women from combat roles in the U.S. Military.
On Tuesday, Hegseth snapped at Fox News reporter Aishah Hasnie when she asked about a previous comment he made about women serving in combat roles.
‘A lot of folks have been up in arms about those comments that you made about women in combat. Do you want to just address it really quickly? How do you feel about the women in combat?’ Hasnie asked.
‘We have amazing women who serve in our military. Amazing women,’ he deflected.
Hasnie pressed: ‘Do you think they should be in combat?’
‘I think they’re already in combat,’ Hegseth shot back.
Pete Hegseth snapped, ignored and gave snarky responses to reporters badgering him with questions during his last two days taking meetings on Capitol Hill. He told a reporter asking about reports he was drunk on the job: ‘I’m not going to dignify that with a response’
During a podcast interview with host Shawn Ryan on November 7, Hegseth made the concerning remarks.
‘I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles,’ he said just last month. ‘It hasn’t made us more effective. Hasn’t made us more lethal. Has made fighting more complicated.
He claims that while women have a place in the military he doesn’t think they belong in special operations, artillery, infantry or armor units.
The future nominee also was confronted with repeated questions over the last two days about a report claiming he was forced out of leadership roles with a veterans group because of excessive drinking.
‘Were you ever drunk while traveling on the job?’ a reporter asked Hegseth while he was walking through the Capitol on Monday.
‘I’m not going to dignify that with a response,’ Hegseth replied.
He also ignored other questions shouted at him regarding this recent reporting.
Trump adviser Jason Miller brushed off the report during an interview with CNN on Tuesday.
‘That was basically just innuendo and gossip,’ Miller said of the claim Hegseth had to be dragged out of a strip club in Louisiana after allegedly harassing workers there.
The Pentagon pick is facing the fallout after the New Yorker alleged in a report this week that he was intoxicated ‘to the point of needing to be carried out of the organization’s events’ on multiple occasions when he was CEO of Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) between 2013 and 2016.
Hegseth also quipped at a former Fox News colleague asking about his previous remarks claiming women in the Military should not be able to serve in combat roles
Hegseth ignored many questions involving a report that he drank too much on the job and was forced out of a role at a veterans organizations because of his drunking
Hegseth did ‘occasionally’ have too much to drink at CVA events and previously acknowledged he ‘drank too much,’ a source close to him told CBS.
But they insist the report about Hegseth’s behavior is false.
‘The idea that a veterans organization of combat veterans who’d recently transitioned out of the military would drink or have too much to drink, that’s not news,’ the individual said.
‘That’s not the kind of life that Pete lives right now,’ they added of the development in character. ‘He certainly has matured a lot in the past decade.’
Hegseth is already a controversial pick, with many Democrats claiming they oppose his nomination for a lack of experience and for some outlandish views – like saying on a podcast that he doesn’t believe women in the armed services should serve in combat.
With Republicans regaining control of the Senate next month, it’s very likely most of Trump’s picks will earn the simple majority needed to ascend to their respective positions.
Hegseth was mobbed by members of the press as he met with senators on Capitol Hill Monday and Tuesday
