{"id":1050775,"date":"2025-01-14T14:57:13","date_gmt":"2025-01-14T19:57:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1050775"},"modified":"2025-01-14T14:57:14","modified_gmt":"2025-01-14T19:57:14","slug":"pete-hegseth-still-has-a-lot-to-answer-for-after-dodging-and-flailing-in-disastrous-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/pete-hegseth-still-has-a-lot-to-answer-for-after-dodging-and-flailing-in-disastrous-hearing\/","title":{"rendered":"Pete Hegseth Still Has A LOT to Answer for After Dodging and Flailing in Disastrous Hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In response to Pete Hegseth\u2019s confirmation hearing today,<\/em> DNC Communications Director Rosemary Boeglin released the following statement:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe confirmation hearings for Trump\u2019s Cabinet kicked off today with an embarrassing showcase of the unfitness and incompetence of Trump\u2019s nominees. Pete Hegseth dodged straightforward questions about the appalling allegations against him \u2014 including sexual assault and inappropriate workplace behavior \u2014 and made it clear he lacks an understanding of the role and basic qualifications to run the Pentagon. Hegseth still owes the American people answers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does Hegseth agree that sexual assault, domestic violence, and drinking on the job should be disqualifying for a Secretary of Defense nominee?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Tim Kaine<\/a>: \u201cYou would agree with me that if someone had committed physical violence against a spouse that would be disqualifying to serve as Secretary of Defense, correct?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hegseth: *doesn\u2019t answer*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Kaine: \u201cYou would agree that that would be a disqualifying offense, would you not?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hegseth: \u201cSenator, you\u2019re talking about a hypothetical.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Kaine<\/a>: \u201cMany of your work colleagues have said that you show up for work under the influence of alcohol or drunk. I know you\u2019ve denied that, but you would agree with me, right, that if that was the case, that would be disqualifying for somebody to be Secretary of Defense?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hegseth: \u201cSenator, those are all anonymous, false claims.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Kaine: \u201cThey’re not anonymous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Kaine<\/a>: \u201cIf it had been a sexual assault, that would be disqualifying to be Secretary of Defense, wouldn\u2019t it?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hegseth: \u201cThat was a false claim then, and a false claim now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Kaine: \u201cSo you can\u2019t tell me whether someone who has committed a sexual assault is disqualified from being Secretary of Defense?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Would Hegseth follow orders to shoot peaceful protesters \u2014 which Trump suggested and former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper refused to carry out?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Mazie Hirono<\/a>: \u201cIn June of 2020, then-President Trump directed former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to shoot protesters in the legs in downtown DC, an order Secretary Esper refused to comply with. Would you carry out such an order from President Trump?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hesgeth: *Refuses to answer question*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Hirono: \u201cWould you carry out an order to shoot protestors in the legs?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hegseth: *Avoids question again*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Hirono: \u201cAgain, you know what, that sounds like to me, that you will comply with such an order, and you will shoot protestors in the leg.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Would Hegseth use military force to invade our allies?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Hirono<\/a>: \u201cWould you carry out an order from President Trump to seize Greenland, a territory of our NATO ally Denmark, by force? Or would you comply with an order to take over the Panama Canal?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hegseth: \u201cSenator, I will emphasize that President Trump received 77 million votes to be the lawful commander-in-chief.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Hirono: \u201cWe\u2019re not talking about the election. My question is, would you use our military to take over Greenland, an ally of Denmark?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hegseth: \u201cSenator, one of the things President Trump is so good at is never strategically tipping his hand. So I would never say in this public forum, give one way or another, direct what orders the president would give to me in any context.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Hirono: \u201cThat sounds to me like you would contemplate carrying out such an order to basically invade Greenland and take over the Panama Canal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does Hegseth stand by his longtime opposition to women serving in combat roles? Why is he lying about \u201cquotas\u201d for service women?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Elizabeth Warren<\/a>: \u201cBut I want to be clear here, for 12 years, you were quite open about your views, and your views were consistently the same. \u2018Women are inferior soldiers, sailors, Marines, Airmen and Guardians,\u2019 and in case anyone missed the point, and these are your words from 10 weeks ago, \u2018women, absolutely straight up, should not be permitted to serve in combat.\u2019 And I notice on each of these quotes, those are said without qualification. \u2026 So help me understand, Mr. Hegseth, what extraordinary event happened in that 32-day period that made you change the core values you had expressed for the preceding 12 years?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hegseth: \u201cSenator, again, I very much appreciate you bringing up my comments from 2013 because for me, this issue has always been about standards, and unfortunately, because of some of the people that have been in political power for the last four years \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Warren: \u201cExcuse me Mr. Hegseth, let\u2019s just stop, let\u2019s just stop, let\u2019s just stop right there. Mr. Hegseth I am quoting you from the podcast, \u2018women shouldn’t be in combat at all.\u2019 Where is the reference to standards that they should be there if they can carry, if they can run? I don’t see that at all.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand<\/a>: \u201cGive me one example, please give me an example [of changing standards for women in combat]. I get you\u2019re making these generalized statements.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hegseth: \u201cCommanders meet quotas to have a certain number of female infantry officers or infantry enlisted, and that disparages those women\u2013\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Gillibrand: \u201cCommanders do not have to meet quotas for the infantry. Commanders do not have to have a quota for women in the infantry. That does not exist. It does not exist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will Hegseth follow his *own rule* for generals and commit to not profiting in the defense industry immediately after serving?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Warren<\/a>: \u201cYou’re quite sure that every general who serves should not go directly into the defense industry for ten years, but you’re not willing to make that same pledge?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hegseth: \u201cI’m not a general, Senator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Warren: \u201cYou’ll be the one, let us just be clear, in charge of the generals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did Hegseth attack veterans for receiving earned benefits?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Jacky Rosen<\/a>: \u201cDo you believe veterans should be ashamed for having sought and obtained the benefits that they have earned? Do you think veterans should be ashamed to seek out benefits?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hegseth: *Dodges*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Rosen: \u201cYou said veterans are dependent on the government.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In response to Pete Hegseth\u2019s confirmation hearing today, DNC Communications Director Rosemary Boeglin released the following statement: \u201cThe confirmation hearings for Trump\u2019s Cabinet kicked off today with an embarrassing showcase of the unfitness and incompetence of Trump\u2019s nominees. Pete Hegseth dodged straightforward questions about the appalling allegations against him \u2014 including sexual assault and inappropriate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":292,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1050775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPete Hegseth Still Has A LOT to Answer for After Dodging and Flailing in Disastrous Hearing - Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/pete-hegseth-still-has-a-lot-to-answer-for-after-dodging-and-flailing-in-disastrous-hearing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-14T19:57:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-14T19:57:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?w=1024\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Adrianna Tomasello\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Adrianna Tomasello\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/pete-hegseth-still-has-a-lot-to-answer-for-after-dodging-and-flailing-in-disastrous-hearing\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/pete-hegseth-still-has-a-lot-to-answer-for-after-dodging-and-flailing-in-disastrous-hearing\/\",\"name\":\"Pete Hegseth Still Has A LOT to Answer for After Dodging and Flailing in Disastrous Hearing - Democrats\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/pete-hegseth-still-has-a-lot-to-answer-for-after-dodging-and-flailing-in-disastrous-hearing\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/pete-hegseth-still-has-a-lot-to-answer-for-after-dodging-and-flailing-in-disastrous-hearing\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?w=1024\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-14T19:57:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-14T19:57:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/00292e8c1694c8322513663ebb5f246f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/pete-hegseth-still-has-a-lot-to-answer-for-after-dodging-and-flailing-in-disastrous-hearing\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/pete-hegseth-still-has-a-lot-to-answer-for-after-dodging-and-flailing-in-disastrous-hearing\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/pete-hegseth-still-has-a-lot-to-answer-for-after-dodging-and-flailing-in-disastrous-hearing\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png\",\"width\":1101,\"height\":483},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/pete-hegseth-still-has-a-lot-to-answer-for-after-dodging-and-flailing-in-disastrous-hearing\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pete Hegseth Still Has A LOT to Answer for After Dodging and Flailing in Disastrous Hearing\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/\",\"name\":\"Democrats\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/00292e8c1694c8322513663ebb5f246f\",\"name\":\"Adrianna Tomasello\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1caa4627f6a3abd6a1daf936cdbaf4406f86f7fcb6a945d915b685b27e7f9a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1caa4627f6a3abd6a1daf936cdbaf4406f86f7fcb6a945d915b685b27e7f9a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Adrianna Tomasello\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/author\/tomaselloa\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pete Hegseth Still Has A LOT to Answer for After Dodging and Flailing in Disastrous Hearing - Democrats","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/pete-hegseth-still-has-a-lot-to-answer-for-after-dodging-and-flailing-in-disastrous-hearing\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_site_name":"Democrats","article_published_time":"2025-01-14T19:57:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-01-14T19:57:14+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?w=1024","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Adrianna Tomasello","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Adrianna Tomasello","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/pete-hegseth-still-has-a-lot-to-answer-for-after-dodging-and-flailing-in-disastrous-hearing\/","url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/pete-hegseth-still-has-a-lot-to-answer-for-after-dodging-and-flailing-in-disastrous-hearing\/","name":"Pete Hegseth Still Has A LOT to Answer for After Dodging and Flailing in Disastrous Hearing - Democrats","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/pete-hegseth-still-has-a-lot-to-answer-for-after-dodging-and-flailing-in-disastrous-hearing\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/pete-hegseth-still-has-a-lot-to-answer-for-after-dodging-and-flailing-in-disastrous-hearing\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?w=1024","datePublished":"2025-01-14T19:57:13+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-14T19:57:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/00292e8c1694c8322513663ebb5f246f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/pete-hegseth-still-has-a-lot-to-answer-for-after-dodging-and-flailing-in-disastrous-hearing\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/pete-hegseth-still-has-a-lot-to-answer-for-after-dodging-and-flailing-in-disastrous-hearing\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/pete-hegseth-still-has-a-lot-to-answer-for-after-dodging-and-flailing-in-disastrous-hearing\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png","width":1101,"height":483},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/pete-hegseth-still-has-a-lot-to-answer-for-after-dodging-and-flailing-in-disastrous-hearing\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pete Hegseth Still Has A LOT to Answer for After Dodging and Flailing in Disastrous Hearing"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/","name":"Democrats","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/00292e8c1694c8322513663ebb5f246f","name":"Adrianna Tomasello","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1caa4627f6a3abd6a1daf936cdbaf4406f86f7fcb6a945d915b685b27e7f9a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1caa4627f6a3abd6a1daf936cdbaf4406f86f7fcb6a945d915b685b27e7f9a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Adrianna Tomasello"},"url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/author\/tomaselloa\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1050775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/292"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1050775"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1050775\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1050777,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1050775\/revisions\/1050777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1050775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1050775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1050775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}