Hegseth ultimately quit the military over the incident, which he characterized as an affront to his Christian faith.
Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the ranking Democrat on the committee,minced no words.
Mr. Hegseth, I do not believe that youre qualified to meet the overwhelming demands of this job.
Pete Hegseth testifies during his Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on Jan. 14, 2025, in Washington, D.C.Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Commanders do not have to have a quota for women in the infantry.
That does not exist, she said.
One woman, seemingly dressed in military fatigues, wascarried outof the hearing by Capitol law enforcement.
I believe the investigation was insufficient, frankly.
Theres still FBI obligations to talk to people, Reed said.
Hegseth repeatedly declined to agree, replying that he was not in charge of FBI background checks.
(He has said hepaid a settlementto the woman that included a confidentiality agreement.)
Hegseth responded by calling the reports false.
Will you resign as secretary of defense if you drink on the job, which is a 24/7 position?
Hirono continued during the tense confrontation.
Ive made this commitment on behalf of the men and women Im serving, Hegseth responded.
Im not hearing an answer to my question, Hirono said.
Drinking to excess is a recurring theme of the recent scrutiny of Hegseth.
He allegedly drunkenly yelled Kill all Muslims!
while running a veterans group.
He allegedly drunkenly sexually assaulted a woman in 2017.
Fox News HR reportedly looked into his drunken behavior at a company Christmas party.
He allegedly got so drunk at a coworkers wedding that he struggled to stand.The list goes on.
he said near the end of an exchange in which Hegseth wouldnt admit that sexual assault is disqualifying.
I will allow your words to speak for themselves, Hegseth replied.
I assume at each of your weddings you pledged to be faithful to your wife, Kaine continued.
Youve taken an oath to do that, havent you?
As Ive acknowledged to everyone in this committee, Im not a perfect person, Hegseth said.
Im not claiming to be.
