By Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Culture war issues like diversity in the military, rather than overseas conflicts, will likely be the focus of a Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth.
Hegseth is one of the most controversial figures ever nominated to be Secretary of Defense and, despite strong support from Trump’s Republicans, his confirmation may depend on his performance before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
A number of episodes from Hegseth’s past have sparked concern among lawmakers, including a 2017 sexual assault allegation that did not result in charges and which he strongly denies, and accusations of excessive drinking and financial mismanagement at veterans’ organizations.
The 44-year-old has railed against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the military, questioning whether the top U.S. general has the job because he’s Black. Prior to his nomination, Hegseth strongly opposed women in combat roles.
Reuters has examined several episodes of Hegseth’s clashes with feminists when he was a student at Princeton University.
Separately, in a 2021 incident first reported by Reuters, Hegseth was branded an “insider threat” by a fellow member of the Army National Guard over his tattoos. Hegseth has said the incident led him to be pulled from Guard duty in Washington during President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
“We cannot have a Defense Secretary whose fellow servicemembers feel concerned enough about to report as a potential insider threat,” Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote in a letter to Hegseth ahead of the hearing.
In recent weeks, Trump’s party has coalesced around his pick. “I look forward to discussing (Hegseth’s) plans to shake up DoD (Department of Defense) and protect the warfighter,” Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin said on Monday.
Still, the slim Republican Senate majority means that Hegseth can lose support from no more than three Senators to be confirmed, if Democrats and independents unite against him.
Cabinet nominees almost never lose Senate votes, because they typically are withdrawn if they seem to be in trouble.
The last nominee who was defeated was former Senator John Tower, a nominee to be Secretary of Defense, in 1989. Tower was investigated over claims of drunkenness and inappropriate behavior with women.
If confirmed, Hegseth could make good on Trump’s promises to rid the military of generals he accuses of pursuing progressive diversity policies.
Reuters has reported that the Trump administration was drawing up a list of generals to fire.
Hegseth, who has little management experience, would be in charge of an organization with a nearly $1 trillion budget, 1.3 million active-duty service members and nearly 1 million civilian workers.
The next Secretary of Defense will face a number of major overseas issues, including active conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza and the expansion of China’s military, though it is unclear how much time will be spent on them during the hearing.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Don Durfee and Nick Zieminski)
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