Five takeaways from the Pete Hegseth hearing

Donald Trump's pick for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, has cleared the first hurdle to his confirmation: a long — and sometimes tense — hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

For more than four hours on Tuesday, Hegseth faced questions about his ability to run the Ministry of Defence, including its three million staff and $849bn (£695bn) budget.

And even though it was so Questioned by Democrats over accusations of sexual assault, infidelity and heavy drinking In the workplace, it seems certain he will be confirmed for the role after no Republicans opposed him.

That was underscored later Tuesday when Joni Ernst, a Republican who had been seen as a potential obstacle to his nomination, said she would support him.

Here's a look at the five key takeaways from Hegseth's testimony.

From the beginning of his testimony… Hegseth, military veteran, He emphasized what he called a “warrior culture,” pledging to return the Defense Department's focus to the strength of the US military.

“Combat, lethality, merit, standards, readiness. That's it. That's my job,” he said in his opening remarks.

As the hearing continued, Hegseth criticized policies that he felt hurt the efficiency and “lethality” of the military, namely efforts at racial and gender diversity.

“This is not the time for justice,” he said, adding that he opposes the quota system, which he claims hurts morale.

In what has become a highly anticipated partisan hearing, Democrats repeatedly questioned Hegseth about his past statements suggesting women are unsuitable to serve in combat roles in the military.

Questions along 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 Massachusetts senator, as she tried to point out comments about female military service members dating back years.

“Mr. Hegseth, I'm quoting you on a podcast: Women should not be in combat at all,” Warren said.

Hegseth remained calm, responding by saying that his concern was not women in combat, but simply maintaining “standards” in the military.

Hegseth, who at 44 will be the youngest defense secretary in decades, also answered questions about his readiness to run the Defense Department, a sprawling agency.

The former Fox News host described himself as an “agent of change,” saying, “It's time to give leadership to someone with dust on his shoes.”

Some Republicans viewed Hegseth's lack of experience as an asset.

“I just want to say that despite all the talk about experience and not attending the same cocktail parties that Washington is always used to, you are a breath of fresh air,” said Missouri Republican Senator Eric Schmitt.

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

However, Democrats pressed Hegseth on his qualifications for the top military job. Reports from US media found that Hegseth's tenure was at the helm of two veterans' non-profits The groups ended up in financial chaos.

Combat veteran Tammy Duckworth focused on whether Hegseth supervised an audit at all.

“Senator, in both organizations I have run, we have always been fully fiscally responsible,” Hegseth began, before Duckworth interjected.

“Yes or no? Have you done the audit? Don't you know this answer?” Duckworth said.

Some experts told the BBC they were very surprised by how little Hegseth talked about how he dealt with the military complexities of the mission.

Aside from brief mentions of China and the war in Ukraine and Russia, the senators did not specifically ask Hegseth about current conflicts, other potential military adversaries and strategic competitors.

Mara Karlin, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans and Capabilities, said these key issues were “ruled out” mostly because of questions about Hegseth's character and competence.

“What was striking about the hearing was the lack of focus on what the secretary of defense should be doing, which is protecting the nation, making sure you have a military that can win in conflicts,” Carlin said.

The sexual assault accusation was repeated in Monterey, California, in 2017, and came to light shortly after Trump appointed him to the Pentagon post.

According to a police report, an unnamed woman said Hegseth took her phone and locked the door when she tried to leave his hotel room before sexually assaulting her.

Hegseth denied any wrongdoing. His lawyer admitted that Hegseth paid an undisclosed sum to remain silent about the incident.

On Tuesday, Hegseth took an offensive stance, denouncing a “coordinated smear campaign” organized by left-wing media. “They want to destroy me.”

But at other times in the hearing, Hegseth answered questions about his behavior with emotional references to his Christian faith.

“I'm not a perfect person, but redemption is real,” he said.