hegseth. these individuals have worked with him professionally. they really know him and his character. these patriotic americans have been willing to put their names and reputations on the line to support mr. hegseth. i look forward to sharing these testimonials with the american people. let me mention one now. it comes from david bellavia who earned the medal of honor for heroic actions in combat in fallujah, iraq. david writes the following, pete is fearless, unflappable, and confronts conflicts head-on. he is a leader to the core. when pete is confirm the next secretary of the department of defense of america, this country will know the privilege of having a true ambassador able to speak on behalf of this generation and its two decade global war on terror. washington doesn't build men like pete. combat builds men like pete. as i said, there are more letters expressing the same endorsement. today, we will hear from the nominee directly. i want to thank mr. hegseth, as well as his loved ones

hegseth. his confirmation hearing before the senate armed services committee is about to get underway. live coverage on c-span3. [applause] [crowd chanting "usa"] chair wicker: good morning. the hearing will come to order. the committee on armed services has convened this hearing to consider the nomination of mr. pete hegseth to be secretary of defense. at this point, in light of the continued suffering and death in and around los angeles, california, i'm going to ask my colleagues and those in the audience to observe a moment of silence. chair wicker: amen. thank you. i want to take this opportunity to thank my good friend ranking member jack reed. this is my first opportunity to chair this committee in this congress. i want to thank senator reed. he proved time after time he cares deeply about national security and about the united states of america. in particular come the men and women who wear the uniform and stand watch here and around the world to protect the united states. senator reed,

hegseth and ms. samantha heg seth. it states that there were no claims of domestic abuse or probable abuse in the relationship. this will be added to the record. we now move to senator cramer. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you mr. hegseth for your service and willingness to endure this. i am sorry for what has been happening to you. particularly the idea that you should have to sit there and answer hypothetical, somebody's imagination crimes that may take place at some point and wouldn't that disqualify you if you were a murderer or if you were a rapist. unfair. i'm embarrassed for this behavior. first i want to say thank you for your strong proclamation, unapologetic proclamation of faith in jesus christ. i listened to your opening statement and thought, wow. this is a guy who is willing to stand up in today's culture and say the first thing is first, faith in jesus christ. i was reminded of what christ said in matthew, seek ye first the kingdom of god and his righteousness and these things shall be added unto you

hegseth.emocrats were looking for a gotcha moment, and they were trying to land a blow. but they couldn't do it because they keep manufacturing and repeating anonymous sources and allegations. and at the end of the day, we walked out of the room, and i thought pete, who had momentum going into the hearing, had even more momentum coming out of it. it went very well for him. he focused on the issues, why it matters that we send a secretary of defense who's serious about preparing to fight and win wars to be the next secretary, why donald trump picked him to do that. and i think he picked up even more support in the room after the hearing. i'm looking forward to us moving quickly to confirm him on january 20 and send him to the pentagon to do his job. amna: as you have seen, several senators have very plainly they don't believe mr. hegseth has the experience to do this job. his management experience is limited to a couple of small nonprofits. why do you believe that that lack of experience isn't

pete hegseth to be secretary of defense. in light of the continued suffering and death in and around los angeles california -- los angeles, california, i will ask my colleagues and those in the audience to observe a moment of silence. amen. . thank you. i want to take this opportunity to thank my good friend, ranking member jack reed. this is my first opportunity to chair this committee and congress. i want to sank -- thank senator reed. he cares deeply about national security and about the united states of america. particularly, the men and women who stand watch here and around the world to protect united states. i want to thank you for the many courtesies you have extended to meet in the past and i look forward to working with you again in a bipartisan fashion in this congress. it is appropriate to recognize and welcome three senators attending their very first senate armed services committee hearing as members. senator banks of indiana, senator sheehy of montana and senator slotkin of michigan. we are excited to have you

hegseth. i asked unanimous consent to introduce these letters and op-eds. without objection, is so ordered. senator sheehy, you have been very patient. sen. sheehy: entering the support letter in for mr. hegseth. i would like a statement from 86 of them who support his nomination although they come from different units and ranks, commending mr. hegseth for his selfless leadership, love of soldiers. chair wicker: two items? sen. sheehy: when item. chair wicker: who without sen. sheehy: pete, i'm going to ask you buttons because i want to hear your answer. how many genders are there? mr. hegseth senator, there are two genders. sen. sheehy: i'm sheehy, so i'm on board. [laughter] how many push-ups can you do? mr. hegseth: i did five sits at 47 this morning. sen. sheehy: what do you think are most important strategic bases in the pacific? mr. hegseth: guam is strategically significant. sen. sheehy: how many rounds of 556 can you fit in an m4 rifle? mr. hegseth: standard is 30. sen. sheehy: what ki

pete hegseth fixed that.ome of his findings from this morning saying, the problem isn't that the u.s. military has gone "woke" as maga partisans like hegseth allege peer the problem is america became complacent after the cold war when it downsized its armed forces and defense industrial base. since then come the united states prepared and military suitable for fighting insurgents in afghanistan or iraq, but inadequate for an extended fight against the major power. also max boot adding this to his column, saying, now it will be up the senators to decide if hegseth, who was dogged by accusations of mismanagement and misconduct at the two nonprofits that he ran, is the right person to rebuild america's atrophy defense capabilities. committee members should grill him not only about his past, but about his plans to address this challenge. his record doesn't inspire confidence that he can rise to the task that would severely test far more experienced executives. that is from max boot in the washington post. this is

hegseth.video clip] >> i would like to return to the incident on october 2017, at that time, you are still married to your second wife, correct? >> i believe so. >> and you had just fathered a child by a woman who would later become your third wife, correct? >> senator, i was falsely charged, fully investigated and cleared. >> so you think you were cleared because -- you had just fathered a child two month before by woman who is not your wife. i'm shocked that you would stand here and say i'm completely cleared and you so casually cheat on a second wife, and she, the mother of a child of importance of as before, and utility were completely cleared, house at how set a complete clear? >> senator, the child's name is gwendolyn hope hegseth, she is a child of god, she is seven years old. >> and you cheated on the mother of the child less than two months after that child was born, didn't you? >> those were false charges, fully investigated and i'm completely clear. and i'm grateful to the marriage

hegseth and mrs. samantha hegseth. it states that there were no claims of domestic abuse or probable evidence of abuse in the relationship. without objection, that will be added to the record and we we now. um, we now move to, uh, senator cramer. >> thank you. thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, mr. hegseth, for your service, for your willingness to endure this. and i'm sorry for what has been happening to you, particularly the very idea that you should have to sit there and answer hypothetical potential in somebody's imagination, crimes that may take place at some point. and wouldn't that disqualify you if you were a murderer or if you were a rapist? unfair, unfair. and i'm embarrassed for, for for this behavior. but first i want to say thank you for your strong. proclamation, unapologetic, unapologetic proclamation of faith in jesus christ. i sat here and listened to your opening statement and thought, wow, this is a guy who, in today's culture, is willing to stand up and say, the first thing is first faith in jesus

hegseth paid to settle. there is new reporting in the new yorker citing three sources that said senators including joni ernst and susan collins turned down offers to hear privately from hegseth's accuser. would you want the chance to meet with the accuser privately to be able to see through your due diligence in this advice and consent role? sen. banks: it is unfortunate that we deal with anonymous allegations and sources. if these people want to come forward and publicly make those claims they would be much more credible and taken more seriously. that has not happened. democrats on the committee repeated anonymous allegations today. amna: i want to clarify. i am asking if you would meet privately with the woman behind accusation in 2017. sen. banks: sure, but nobody has reached out to me to do that. at this point we need to get pete hegseth on the job in the role of secretary of defense to clean up the mess over the last four years and that is why i fully support his confirmation. amna: republican senator j

that change's name is pete hegseth. heavyweights going to follow donald trump's lead as commander in chief and make sure that the united states of america and allies are protected from all enemies that are trying to destroy this nation. larry: kevin, it's important, we have to rem ditterman accountability and fill yuri colinses of the past four years and i'm sorry more of that didn't come up today. i'm very sorry democrats won't talk about it. so be it. highly partisan and learning the hard way they don't control the senate. they don't control the presidency and they don't control the house and they don't control the policy. so be it. but, you know,ed, the retreat out of afghanistan was the first step and it was all downhill from there. he appeased vladamir putin and ukraine and don't, don't, well, putin did, did. he appeased iran, he unlocked all of the economic sanctions in iran. he tried to make a deal with iran. he was with his israel on days except when he wasn't with him and we couldn't tell. i never saw him snap

what did pete hegseth say that changed you?ly about the sexual harassment questions. there are no actual people, it is all anonymous, no substantiated things held against him, through his businesses and people he's worked for. he said, i'm an open book, ask my wife, my businesses, anybody, you will get same answer. his military career and what he stood for, realism over idealism and getting a job done, i take that seriously as a military veteran of marine corps and navy corps for four years. we have to have the right leadership, the right idea how to close that chain and do our job effectively and he's the right guy. >> todd: schumer has has democrats loaded today coming out expected to be in full-on attack mode. bwell bwell -- blumenthal,s he is unqualified and schumer says you want a candidate drama free, his background and deeply troubling. and tammy duckworth says this man is not qualified to run appleby's, let alone department of defense. your respond? >> this coming from unqualified people for health care and other things

hegseth have come from anonymous sources.mous accusations with the many public letters of support and commendation. we have seen letters from people who served with mr. hegseth. these individuals have worked with him professionally. they really know him and his character. these patriotic americans have been willing to put their names and reputations on the line to support mr. hegseth. i look forward to sharing these testimonials with the american people. let me mention one right now coming from david bellavia who earned the medal of honor for heroic actions in iraq. david writes the following. pete is fearless, unflappable and confronts conflicts head on. he is a leader to the core. when pete is confirmed as the next secretary of defense of the united states of america this country will finally know the privilege of having a true ambassador able to speak on behalf of this generation and its two decade global war on terror. washington doesn't build men like pete. combat builds men like pete. as i said, there are more letters e

you know, perhaps the most damning comment about pete hegseth came from pete hegseth himself when hewhat the military needs in its leadership. >> the dei policies of today are not putting meritocracy first. every single senior officer will be reviewed based on meritocracy. getting anything that doesn't contribute to meritocracy out of how decisions are made inside the pentagon. ensuring readiness and meritocracy is front and center. meritocracy. meritocracy. meritocracy. >> jordan: oh! i know what his next kid's going to be named! you heard him, though. you heard him, folks. a military cannot function unless it's staffed by a system based on pure merit, where only the most qualified people rise to the top. so says your next secretary of defense, who will run the most complicated, powerful, deadly organization the world has ever known, and whose only qualification is that trump liked watching him sit on a couch on saturday mornings. [applause] but listening to republicans today, it seems like that's going to be enough to get him confirmed. >> i just want to say, for all the talk of ex

pete hegseth. right. right after nine over 11, you are promised great victories in iraq and afghanistan, and you are lied to and misled by george w bush and dick cheney. and after the kind of outburst of jingoism around those wars on the right, you know, if you're a fox news person, all you were told for the bush years is we're on the precipice of some great victory. there was a lot of anger and resentment about how those wars turned out. but importantly, and this is not unusual when superpowers fail to win wars, that anger didn't get channeled kind of at foreign policy. it got channeled at an enemy within. and if you take seriously, as i do, what hank said is said and written for many years, he is railing against liberals. he's railing against islam. he's railing against, you know, quote unquote woke culture. he's railing against women in combat, gays in the military. it's all these enemies within. and he shares that with trump, and he shares trump's interest in having a secretary of defense who's totall

pete hegseth has that. think that pete hegseth with dust on boots which i agree larry love that illustration. but, people should know about pete hegseth, while he is a dust on boots sort of guy, there is no compromise in intellectual capacity he is a brilliant man and eloquent on issues that matter. larry: he? he turned out well. >> he -- >> [ laughter ] he cover its beautifully. derrick van orden are we close to a deal? do you think a cease fear deal and hostage deal with hamas? i'm reading about it president trump has made mention of it, do you think we're close. can we trust hamas? >> no, we can't trust hamas at all. ever. justs we cannot trust the mullahs and iran to have a nuclear weapon. i hope we're getting closer to hostage deal. i think hamas understands that donald trump means what he says, and i agree for our -- grieve for our israeli brothers and sisters. so, here is what hamas better understand. you touch an american, you harm an american or one of our allies you will never have another peacefu

many have not spoke with pete hegseth before this hearing is taking place, despite the fact pete hegseth spent several weeks trying to meet with republican and democratic lawmakers. >> brian: if you look at the democratic side jack reid, serious guy, janine, same thing. gilllibrand, same. these are ones i think will go out for blood, duckworth, elizabeth warren, who submitted 100 questions, rono and richard blumenthal, who was last night frantic because he thought he had a great witness and it blew up in his face. pete has 20 years of war experience and this man-made up being in war. pete comes with harvard, princeton, iraq, afghanistan, gitmo experience. you have under secretaries that are going to be extremely organized. they understand big corporations. they are seeing surge of people signing up for the military, we have not had that in four years. >> lawrence: because culture is changing. they understand what donald trump stands for and pete wants to get back to war fighting. you saw chuck schumer, this is resistance. republicans on the committee and senate that have to vote on this,

hegseth is assuredly not more of the same, and that's good. mike, do you think hegseth is going to get all republican confirmation votes? >> i don't know if he's going to get all of the republican confirmation votes, but i do think joni ernst today sent a signal that is really important for those who support the nomination and want him to succeed. that was i think that was a really important exchange, if not the most important exchange today. >> so another important exchange comes from a brand new republican senator, john curtis of utah. he has not yet said how he's going to vote on hegseth nomination, and he was asked about the importance of personal character giving, given all of the infidelities in hegseth background. i think he cheated on wife number one with wife number two, cheated on wife number two with wife number three. there are some kids out of wedlock in there or whatever. here's what senator curtis had to say. >> it is a big deal. >> now we're all flawed. >> and the question is, at what point do you cross that line? right. >> bec

hegseth denied that allegation, but soon other stories were surfacing. stories about his reputation for drunkenness on the job, both as the head of two veterans organizations and as a weekend host on fox news. there were also stories about his financial mismanagement of the organizations he led, and stories alleging a history of cruel and offensive public behavior like drunkenly chanting kill all muslims at a bar in ohio. all of that made it look like pete hegseth might, just might just fail to get the republican support he needed to become trump's next defense secretary. and a lot of the attention about hegseth fate fell on one senator in particular, senator joni ernst of iowa. senator ernst is herself a sexual assault survivor, something she has spoken openly about in the past. >> abuse is not something you can just simply forget. it stays with you forever. and i know this personally. as a survivor and as a united states senator, i feel it is important to be a voice for the thousands of victims across iowa and so many more across our nation who have fa

hegseth. uh, is there um is there objection? without objection, those three will be admitted. senator scott. all right. >> first, congratulations on your nomination. >> thank you, senator, and thank you for being willing to serve our nation. >> um, i served in the navy. i'm really proud of my dad. he was crazy. he did all four combat jumps with the 82nd airborne. he after that, survived all that and fought in the battle of the bulge. and what they went through, it was hell. um, so i have a lot of respect for him and for everybody that puts on the uniform and serves in battle and has to lead people in battle because it, um, uh, being on a ship, that didn't happen to me, but i had a lot of friends that happened to in my it happened to my dad. i've served on this committee for six years, two years under president trump in the past, four under president joe biden. i've seen how the biden-harris administration pushed the dod to prioritize wokeness over being the most lethal military force in the wo

mr hegseth was a fox will re'oice. mr hegseth was a fox news will rejoice.tv presenter when - will rejoice. mr hegseth was a fox news tv presenter when cricket i will rejoice. mr hegseth was a fox - news tv presenter when cricket world cup picked 1427 00:15:17,290 -->

a catfightg to on the hill goino war with pete hegseth.has that and more coming up. ♪ ♪ israel needs you. we desperately need tens of thousands to respond. the war is here. the great storm from the north has come against israel. you've got the scriptures calling each one of us, not only to pray for the peace in jerusalem, but every city throughout israel that's under siege. this massive grocery store should be crowded. people are lacking food. exactly. the international fellowship of christians and jews is preparing meals for precious elderly citizens who can't get out. so many bombs yesterday. because of the war, much of her roof is gone, the ceiling is gone. she's frightened from hezbollah. hezbollah. how does she get food? the international fellowship of christians and jews will come in. you provide groceries, vegetables, hot meals. it's you. your emergency gift will help provide food to klara and thousands like her, trying to survive in the evacuated areas of israel. your urgently needed gift of $45 will help rush the delivery of an em

piece hegseth is giving -- pete hegseth is giving strong answers to tough questions. he's confident, knowledgeable and should be confirmed quickly. we have a significant problem in our military, with morale and with recruitment, and pete hegseth is the right person to address those issues of military readiness. mr. president, the incoming administration is ready to act, ready to act and deliver on the historic mandate that president trump won in november. his victory in the electoral college and the popular vote gives him a mandate, a mandate to undo the damage of the current administration, and to unleash new american prosperity. president trump understands the old saying that personnel is policy. that's why he nominated his entire cabinet before thanksgiving, and it is a strong team. doug burgum, chris wright, lee zelleden will take the handcuffs off american energy. marc marc, pete -- marco rubio, pete hegseth will restore american strength of. no more weakness from america on the world stage. scott bess ant will stop a $4 trillion tax increate. pam bondi will stop

and hegseth said that his time in service is so important to him. so let me just play this exchange. >> do you believe there is such a thing as an illegal order that joe biden or any other president donald trump could give? >> is there anything that a commander in chief could ask you to do with the uniformed military that would be in violation of the u.s. constitution? >> senator, anybody of any party could give an order that is against the constitution or against the law. right. >> okay. so and are you so are you saying that you would stand in the breach and push back if you were given an illegal order? >> i start by saying i reject the premise that president trump understand giving any illegal orders at all. >> were you satisfied with that answer? >> no, no, i'm not satisfied. i don't think anybody on the committee on either side of the aisle should be satisfied with that answer, you know, any president at any time. i mean, first of all, you got to understand the demands of the presidency and presidents could make bad decisions, and it could be up

hegseth. >> senator schmidt, thank you, mr. chairman. i'd like to submit for the record a letter submitted by mr. christopher on the former director of operations for vets for freedom. >> mr. on his letter states that the suggestion quote the suggestion that funds were misused for personal gain lavish parties or other improper purposes is categorically false. throughout my time working with pete hegseth, he consistently demonstrated exceptional integrity and leadership. i asked unanimous consent to enter this letter into record without objection, so ordered, senator schmidt. thank you, mr. chairman. mr. hegseth, good to see you here today. thank you for your service. thank you and your willingness to serve. i also want to thank you for your clarity in articulating the vision you have for the department of defense and restoring an ethos, a warrior ethos, which is in stark contrast to the ethos we've seen in the last four years, which is of weakness and wokeness. and i want to drill down on a fe

hegseth. what i see is that there's a 32 day period in which you suddenly have another description about your views of women in the military, and i just want to know what changed in the 32 days that the song you sang is not the song you come in here today to sing. >> senator, the concerns i have and the concerns of many have had, especially in ground combat units, is that in pursuit of certain percentages or quotas, standards have been changed. >> please give me an example. i get you're making these generalized statements quotas to have a certain number of female infantry officers or infantry enlisted, and that disparages those women. >> commanders are not capable of 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. and your statements are creating the impression that there that these exist because they do not. there are not quotas. we want the most lethal force. but i'm telling you, having having been here for

the senate must put true warrior pete hegseth at mr. trump ocean side to help him do it and that's the riff. all right, joining me now is alabama senator tommy tuberville, aforementioned great friend of the show, and strong helicoptering seth and i don't know if you -- hegseth db of interaural known if you god wind and put it out a little after 3:00 p.m. and fox news digital report on the military evaluations of pete hegseth but these evaluations i mentioned a couple of them in my opening riff, these evaluations are spectacular senator tuberville. i mean, one after another absolutely spectacular and make everybody on armed services and i hope somebody will distribute this fox news story because it's very important evidence. these are the military evaluations of hegseth and they are, as i said, spectacular. what do you think, sir? >> outstanding resume, larry. i was in that press conference today with a lot of people that had served with pete, and just listening to story after story about how he motivated people, how he took his command

hegseth and mrs. samantha hegseth. it states that there were no claims of domestic abuse or probable evidence of abuse in the relationship. without objection that will be added to the record. we now move to senator kramer. >> thank you, mr. chairman and thank you, mr. hegseth for your service and willingness to endure this. i'm sorry for what has been happening to you particularly the very idea that you should have to sit there and answer hypothetical potential in somebody's imagination crimes that may take place at some point and wouldn't that disqualify you if you were a murderer or a rapist? unfair, unfair. i'm embarrassed for this behavior. first i want to say thank you for your strong proclamation unapologetic of faith in jesus christ. i sat here and listened to your opening statement and thought wow, this is a guy who in today's culture is willing to stand up and say the first thing is first faith in jesus christ. and i was reminded of what christ said in matthew, seek ye first the kingdom of god and his righteou

they did not lay a glove on hegseth. no mistakes. >> reporter: but if you ask msnbc's joy reid, hegseth got quite a bit of help from republicans on the committee. listen to this. >> what makes you so awesome? republican senators did their best to help out trump's pick for defence secretary, pete hegseth, during his confirmation hearing today. even the chairman play down the various allegations against him. it's just anonymous sources and liberal media. >> reporter: and as we know that media can say all they want but in the end is as now the senators well that will decide whether hegseth confirmation will go through. >> trace: he's a step closer. ashley strohmier live in new york, thank you. ♪ ♪ >>> the "fox news @ night" common sense department thinks the democratic party has pretty much said goodbye to the whole joy and unity vibe. common sense knows this because country superstar carrie underwood is now getting big time criticism for agreeing to sing at donald trump's inauguration. she released a statement saying "i am

senator joni ernst revealing her vote on pete hegseth confirmation as president elect. trump appears to have won the battle for his pick to lead the defense department. democratic senator elizabeth warren will join me live after she clashed with hegseth today over his stance on women in combat. also tonight, the death toll in los angeles has now risen to 25 people. while firefighters are making progress today. forecasters have an ominous new warning. and who's in and who's out. michelle obama won't attend donald trump's inauguration next monday, but mark zuckerberg will. and he is not the only one. we have a few more names for you tonight. i'm kaitlan collins in washington, and this is the source. and there is breaking news here in d.c. after a dramatic and tense day on capitol hill, republican senator joni ernst of iowa, who at one point expressed reservations about president-elect trump's pick to run the pentagon and had the power potentially to sink pete hegseth nomination has just made a very big announcement. >> he was at a adequately able to answer all of my quest

samantha hegseth. >> the couple were married from 2010 until 2018, and according to the times, fbi investigators had an initial initial perfunctory conversation with her on january 8th, according to people familiar with the apprized or apprized of the report. >> mr. hegseth then made multiple attempts to contact the bureau for a more substantive discussion, but her calls were not returned last week, said those with knowledge of the investigation, who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. let's bring in the host of way too early, ali vitali and pulitzer prize winning columnist and associate editor of the washington post, eugene robinson. >> thank you all for being with us. let's start. jon lemire, let me ask you, what is the reaction? and i guess, to this very incomplete fbi report, but also, more importantly, a lot of people asking, how do you have an fbi report on pete hegseth when those with the most explosive charges aren't even a part of that fbi report, and you have one person tryin

hegseth. i was very disturbed in your opening statement where you talked about the priorities that you have. we will work with our partners and allies to deter aggression in the indo-pacific from the communist chinese. there's not a single mention in this statement about ukraine or russia. is this code for we're going to abandon ukraine? >> senator, the president -- this is -- that's a presidential level policy decision. he's made it very clear that he would like to see an end to that conflict. we know who the aggressor is, we know who the good guy isment we want to see it as advantageous for ukranians as possible. >> you talk about deterrence and i suggest xi jinping is watching what we do very carefully. if we aband i don ukraine, thats the strongest message possible to xi jinping that he can take taiwan without anything from this country. >> thank you, senator. >> i want to introduce two records that testify to mr. hegseth's record americans concerned for america. and the senior advisor sta

do you think you could change her opinion on pete hegseth to lead the department? looking forward to finally meeting with him tomorrow. i will ask him questions about a lot of prosaic stuff like getting the nation's shipbuilding back on track etc.. this is the most important cabinet position, in my opinion. you need is somebody not only of solid qualification, but somebody whose character is very, very stellar. i will say the nominee has more baggage on the personal behavior and character side than any nominee that has come before any of the committees i have been on in the senate in the last 12 years. i am looking forward to the discussion tomorrow and we will see where it goes. >> pete hegseth says he is a change agent and his supporters say he is a disruptor that the defense department desperately needs. it is opaque and bureaucratic, they say. it has failed seven audits. is that what the position needs? >> i do think we need some significant change. maybe not modest change, significant change. but if you want to change an organization you need eight track recor

get your thoughts on pete hegseth confurthermoration hearing yesterday. much criticism has to do with what he said about women in combat roles. you were the first woman ever to graduate from the citadel, what did you think yesterday? >> i thought senators were unhinged and off the rails, unfair during his testimony yesterday. what he did was remarkable. this is the mark of a man, a leader who cares about his country and his fellow countrymen and women serving in uniform. he wants us to be the strongest fighting force in the world and soldiers come back in one piece. he pointed out there are physiological differences from men and women. he knows reality of the battlefield. for example, yesterday the sack and rifle and ammo a soldier is carrying is upward of 100 or 200 pounds, i'm 5-6, 120 pounds, i can't carry that anywhere. we can do this if we work together and smart about it. i hope other nominees had their pencil out and were taking notes, this is how it is done. >> todd: democrats with their own interpretation of pete hegseth comments when it comes to

hegseth. >> reporter: hegseth also pressed about an accusation he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017, a charge he denies. claiming the encounter was consensual. senator tim kaine pointing out that at the time hegseth was married, and had recently had a baby with another woman. >> you acknowledge that you cheated on your wife and that you cheated on the woman who -- by whom you had just fathered a child? you have admitted that? >> i will allow your words to speak -- >> you're not retracting that today? >> reporter: democrats challenging him on reports of excessive drinking. he has promised he would not drink alcohol if he's confirmed. >> a cba staffer stated that you passed out in the back of a party bus. is that true or false? >> anonymous smears. >> reporter: republicans on the committee making it clear they've got hegseth's back. >> he is a decorated post-9/11 combat veteran. he will inject a new warrior ethos into the pentagon, a spirit that can cascade from the top down. >> reporter: and david, that key republican senator joni ernst announced just moments ago she will be supportin

or if you want to talk about being unqualified, pete hegseth, the -- not pete hegseth, i'm sorry. pete buttigieg, the gentleman that is over the department of transportation. the gentleman who true was a mayor and now is he over transportation. where were their callout on those individuals, right? it doesn't matter as long as it applies to them because, listen, if you are a democrat you are qualified for everything, evidently. >> laura: senator cotton, if they thought that hegseth was going to be a big stumbling block for trump, they probably wouldn't have given him much trouble at this hearing. and they were pathetic today. nothing hit pete. i mean they think he is actually going to do what trump directs him to do with consultation with military experts. but that's what they are really worried about, correct? >> yeah. they are, laura. just look at the issue i discussed with pete today. that's women in ground combat roles. people have talk about women in combat. women have been in combat for a long time as pilots, medics or mechanics. talk about infantry and artillery and there ar

hegseth. before we begin with member questions, i would like to remind my colleagues that consistent with the bipartisan staff agreement from december, and in concert with exactly how this committee dealt with the last secretary of defense nominee, each member will be recognized for one round of seven minutes to question the nominee. out of respect for the time of all members of this committee, the time limits will be tightly enforced. we've now been here 45 minutes and i think we've done very well with the time but at this point i will begin my questioning of the nominee. mr. hegseth, you and your family have endured criticism of your nomination since it was announced in november. let's get into this allegation about sexual assault, inappropriate behavior and other things. i should note the majority of these have come from anonymous sources in liberal media publications but i want to give you an opportunity to respond to these allegations, sir. >> mr. chairman, thank you for that opportunity.

hegseth will be confirmed.enate majority leader john thune said he wants to step on the floor as early as next week. they're hoping to get him through next week. i'm sure they'll be able to do that may slide to the following week, but it feels like despite, you know, serious questions about his personal and his professional qualifications, that feels like he's going to be confirmed. >> well, and of course, he got he was defended staunchly by republicans in the hearing, including by markwayne mullin who did it this way. let's watch it. right. >> senator kaine, or i guess i better use the senator from virginia, starts bringing up the fact that what if you showed up drunk to your job? how many senators have showed up drunk to vote at night? have any of you guys asked them to step down and resign from their job? >> perez, what say you? can you confirm? >> senators show up drunk on the floor, you know. yeah. i've been doing this a long time. you used to see a lot more drinking in congress than you do now. it's fair.

senate must put true warrior pete hegseth at mr. trump's side to help him do it, and that's the riff. all right, joining me now bam bap senator tom -- alabama senator tommy tuberville. i don't know if you got wind of the -- they just put if out after 3:00 p.m., fox news digital report on the military evaluations of pete hegseth. but these evaluations i mentioned a couple of them in the opening riff, they are spectacular. senator tuberville, one after another. spectacular. what do you make of it? everybody on armed services. i hope someone will distribute this fox news story. because it did is very important evidence, they are military evaluations of hegseth, they are as i said spectacular. >> outstanding resume. i was in that press conference today with a lot of people that had served with pete, and listened to story after story about how he motivated people, he took his command and led his people in to battle, he did things that a lot of these woke generals that have been in pentagon would just dream babout, pete has done it we nee

pete hegseth up first in the hot seat. as cnn's brian todd reports, democrats zeroed in on the former fox news host and whether he has the experience and the character to lead the pentagon. >> good morning. the hearing will come to order. >> tonight, the man who was perhaps donald trump's most controversial cabinet pick is likely on track for confirmation after his at times contentious hearing before the senate armed services committee. pete hegseth, the former fox news host and army vet who the president elect has tapped to be his defense secretary. faced hours of grilling from lawmakers. >> you have admitted that you had sex while you were married to wife two after you just had fathered a child by wife three. >> you've admitted that now, if it had been a sexual assault, that would be disqualifying to be secretary of defense, wouldn't it? >> it was a false claim then, and a false claim now. >> if it had been a sexual assault, that would be disqualifying to be secretary of defense, wouldn't it? >> that was a false claim. >

the hegseth allies hegseth himself. they were very strategic, of course, led by, i'm sure, donald trump and his aides to wage political, aggressive political campaigns to get republicans who were on the fence to give hegseth another chance, at least private hearings. during those conversations. and now that we saw him today, caitlin, it was so clear that he gets it that he understands what the drill is when it comes to working for donald trump, communicating for and to donald trump. i mean, there was almost a kavanaugh esque approach to this hearing in that instead of being totally deferential to the senate confirmation process, he pushed back and pushed back hard on a lot of the democrats. >> yeah, justice kavanaugh might argue those allegations are very different. but, dana, you make such a great point in terms of the effort and the kind of groundswell of support that was put behind pete hegseth going into this hearing, because you're exactly right. when you remind people that it was only a few weeks ago that there wa

the only cabinet pick to have a hearing so far is defense secretary nominee pete hegseth. overnight, joni ernst announced she will be supporting hegseth's confirmation unless there is a surprising turn in the gop. this likely clears hegseth's path to the pentagon. but his hearing did have some tense moments. garrett haake has more from capitol hill. >> reporter: president-elect trump's embattled pick to lead the pentagon, pete hegseth, making an impassioned pitch for the job. >> my only special interest is the war fighter. >> reporter: arguing he's the starting of false attacks. >> there was a coordinated smear campaign orchestrated in the media against us. >> reporter: but hegseth, facing a grilling from senate democrats, including over a 2017 sexual assault allegation. police investigated, but no charges were filed. the local prosecutor saying, quote, no charges were supported by proof beyond a reasonable doubt. >> you've admitted that it was consensual, and you were still married and just this a child by another woman. how do you explain your judgment. >> false charges

and pete hegseth is a change agent. know what i thought was pitiful about the democrats performance this morning is they were eager to slander him personally to drag him through the mud. very happy to go with anonymous accusations from people who are not willing to put their name to it, not willing to put evidence behind it. but what they didn't want to talk about is the job he's been nominated to do to lead the department of defense and to change the department of defense. i think he is going to be a major change agent to bring the department of defense back to its core mission of supporting the war fighter, of being prepared, if necessary, to defeat and kill our enemies. and under joe biden and the democrats, the department of defense has run down every woke rabbit trail of whatever the political agenda of the moment is. instead of focusing on the war fighter, i'm going to make a prediction for you, jesse. when pete hegseth is confirmed as secretary of defense, we are going to see enlistment numbers rise and rise dram

pete hegseth, the first trump cabinet pick on the hot seat before the senate. the army, national guard veteran and former fox news host clashing with democrats, claiming he is the victim of a smear campaign. amid allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking and what he says about women in the military after stating in the past they should not serve in combat. the new fire breaking out in the los angeles area under a red flag warning for strong winds. crews are still battling the biggest infernos and what is being learned about what sparked them. the final special counsel report about donald trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. inside iran, my one-on-one conversation with the iranian president. we ask him directly did iran plan to assassinate president-elect trump and will it try in the future. are you willing to promise there will be no attempt on the life of dodonald trump? how he answered and his reaction to the possible cease-fire between israel and iran-backed hamas. and princess kate, the good news she is announcing about her battle with

this was seen as a make or break moment for hegseth. you have new reporting on the impact of this. >> trump transition officials are extremely pleased with hegseth's performance. he can only afford to lose three republican votes and still be confirmed. one republican senator thinks hegseth is on track for the confirmation as early as next week. >> let's get to the deadly wildfire emergency in southern cal. 13 million people remain under red flag warnings tonight. liz kreutz has details. >> reporter: fire ravaged los angeles on edge as southern california braces for another extreme wind event. the initial weather service issues the same advisories. >> we have staffed all available resources, strategically placing fire patrols and engines in the unimpacted high risk areas in the city. >>>> reporter: in the past week 60 miles around l.a. county has been scorched. >> air efforts are a critical part of the firefight. you can see it here. teams are attacking the fires and the hot spots like this one from the air every chance they get. >> repo

hegseth denies that allegation. he says he had consensual extramarital sex with his accuser and made an undisclosed payment to her to settle the matter, a payment he concealed from everyone, including the trump transition team. but for the moment, just indulge me here. let's just forget that. pretend none of that happened, okay? and just imagine the process of sorting through resumes for a candidate to run the pentagon. one of the most important jobs in the entire country and in the world, a job that oversees the nation's largest single workforce. a job that starts and ends with keeping americans safe. there is no universe in which pete hegseth resume gets him into the let's interview him pile. none. he is manifestly unqualified for virtually any high ranking government position cabinet position, much less the one he's nominated for. and he demonstrated that frequently today in his senate confirmation hearing. >> what is the highest level of international security agreement that you have led? and can you name some t