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Pete Hegseth Questioned in Senate Confirmation Hearing. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired January 14, 2025 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:30:00]
PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY NOMINEE: No, Senator, I know, in any one of my jobs, if I had decided to go AWOL for even a day or two in -- in uniform or around that, that would have been a concern.
SEN. JIM BANKS (R-IN): I believe accountability matters. No one, to this day, has ever, as you've said, been held accountable for what happened in Afghanistan. It was embarrassing to this country. It's impacted this country greatly.
And I applaud you and President Trump for bringing accountability back to our Pentagon.
With that, I yield back.
SEN. ROGER WICKER, (R-MS): The chair recognizes the distinguished ranking member for unanimous consent request.
SEN. JACK REED (D-RI): Mr. Chairman, I would like to submit an article discussing some of the issues of readiness and DEI.
There has been a comment that 5.9 million man hours have been used for DEI. General Milley clarified that that is an estimate out of more than two billion man hours that the Department of Defense invested during the time period.
WICKER: Where is this published, sir?
REED: This is published by Meghan Myers, and I will get the --
(CROSSTALK)
WICKER: OK.
REED: Military.com. I'm sorry.
WICKER: Without objection, it will be admitted to the record.
And Senator Slotkin, welcome to the committee.
SEN. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-MI): Thank you. Thank you, Senator. And thank you for referencing the great Carl Levin as you introduced me. We miss him in Michigan. For those who I haven't met in my one week that I've been sworn into
the Senate, I'm a CIA officer recruited after 9/11. I did three tours armed in Iraq alongside the military.
And have worked for four different secretaries of defense, both Democrat and Republican, proudly. And watched them make decisions that literally determine the life and death of Americans in the dark of night.
I'm also a Democrat representing a state that Trump won, right? We both won on the same ballot. So I understand that President Trump has the -- the right to nominate his people. We are going to have policies that we disagree with. All of that, to me, comes very standard.
What I think I'm most concerned with is that no president has the right to use the uniformed military in a way that violates the U.S. Constitution and further taints the military as that apolitical institution that we all want. Right?
And our founders designed the system so that -- you know, we had posse comitatus -- that we weren't going to use active-duty military inside the United States and make American citizens potentially scared of their own military. We went through our own experience with that, with the British.
As the secretary of defense, you will be the one man standing in the breach should President Trump give an illegal order. Right? I'm not saying he will, but if he does, you are going to be the guy that he calls to implement this order.
Do you agree that there are some orders that can be given by the commander-in-chief that would violate the U.S. Constitution?
HEGSETH: Senator, thank you for your service. But I reject the premise that President Trump is going to be giving illegal orders.
SLOTKIN: No, I'm not saying he will. But if -- 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?
HEGSETH: Senator, anybody of any party --
SLOTKIN: Right.
HEGSETH: -- could give an order that is against the Constitution or against the law.
SLOTKIN: Right? OK. 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?
HEGSETH: I start by saying I reject the premise that President Trump is giving --
SLOTKIN: I understand. HEGSETH: -- any illegal orders at all.
SLOTKIN: My -- my -- this isn't a hypothetical. OK? Your predecessor in a Trump administration, Secretary Esper, was asked and did use uniformed military to clear unarmed protesters. He was given the order to potentially shoot at them. Helos flew low in Washington, D.C. as crowd control.
He later apologized publicly for those actions. Was he right or wrong to apologize?
HEGSETH: Senator, I was there on the ground and I saw the -- I saw --
(CROSSTALK)
SLOTKIN: I understand and I respect that. I've been there.
(CROSSTALK)
HEGSETH: I understand the level of threat --
SLOTKIN: -- secretary of defense
HEGSETH: -- involved in that moment --
(CROSSTALK)
SLOTKIN: Was he right?
HEGSETH: -- legality and the Constitution.
SLOTKIN: Sir, was he right or wrong? Should he have to apologize?
HEGSETH: I'm not going to put words in the mouth of Secretary Esper or anybody else.
SLOTKIN: No. He said them himself. You don't have to. What are you scared of? Did he do the right thing by apologizing?
HEGSETH: I'm not scared of anything, Senator.
(CROSSTALK)
SLOTKIN: Then say yes or no. You can say no.
HEGSETH: -- the laws and the Constitution.
(CROSSTALK)
SLOTKIN: OK.
HEGSETH: In any particular --
(CROSSTALK)
SLOTKIN: So Donald Trump asked for the active-duty 82nd Airborne to be deployed during that same time. Secretary Esper has written that he convinced him against that decision.
If Donald Trump asked you to use the 82nd Airborne in law enforcement roles in Washington, D.C., would you also convince him otherwise?
HEGSETH: I'm not going to get ahead of conversations I would have with the president. However, there are laws and processes inside our Constitution that would be followed.
[13:35:06]
SLOTKIN: President Trump said in November that he is willing to consider using the active-duty military against the, quote, "enemy within."
Have you been personally involved in discussions of using the U.S. military active-duty inside the United States?
HEGSETH: Senator, I'm fine -- I'm glad we finally got to the topic of border security equaling national security, because it's been abdicated and ignored for the last four years.
SLOTKIN: That wasn't my question. I'm just asking, have you been involved -- you're about to be the secretary of defense, potentially. Have you been involved in discussions about using the active-duty military inside the United States?
HEGSETH: Senator, I am not yet the secretary of defense.
(CROSSTALK)
SLOTKIN: Right.
HEGSETH: If confirmed, I would be party to any number of --
(CROSSTALK)
SLOTKIN: So you haven't been in any of these --
(CROSSTALK)
HEGSETH: I would not reveal what I have discussed with the president of United States.
SLOTKIN: No, no. Just have you been in conversations -- again, you're going to be in charge of three million people. The active-duty that I know you care about, I believe you care about.
So have you been in conversations about using the active-duty in any way, whether it's setting up in detention camps, policing dangerous cities. Have you been involved in any of those conversations?
HEGSETH: Certainly, I have been involved in conversations relating to doing things this administration has not, which is secure the southern border --
SLOTKIN: I -- HEGSETH: -- and not allow floods of illegals into our country --
SLOTKIN: So --
HEGSETH: -- through an invasion --
SLOTKIN: OK.
HEGSETH: -- that threatens the American people.
SLOTKIN: OK, OK, I got it.
HEGSETH: And there are ways in which the military is already playing a role in that, to include 5,000 National Guardsmen --
SLOTKIN: Do you believe that the U.S. --
HEGSETH: -- from Indiana who are at the border right now, allowing for border security.
SLOTKIN: Will you ask --
HEGSETH: So there is plenty of precedent.
(CROSSTALK)
SLOTKIN: -- active-duty military, military staff, detention centers --
HEGSETH: -- the border.
SLOTKIN: Our U.S. military is not trained in law enforcement roles. I think you know that, right? We've seen how that mission is difficult for them in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, because that's not the training a uniformed military comes with.
Do you support the use of active-duty military in supporting detention camps?
HEGSETH: Senator, everything we will do would be lawful and under the Constitution.
SLOTKIN: OK --
HEGSETH: But I recognize that this administration has abdicated it's responsibility. President Trump is going to restore order at the border --
(CROSSTALK)
SLOTKIN: OK, in the spirit of preserving --
(CROSSTALK)
HEGSETH: -- preventing our enemies from invading. And yes, he has said --
(CROSSTALK)
SLOTKIN: Sir, yes, I get your filibustering, I get it, I get it.
HEGSETH: -- part of what happens.
SLOTKIN: I get it. I get it.
In the spirit of preserving the institution that I think we both care about legitimately, the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
I've heard a couple of different things. One, you said you will not change the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which is what governs justice system in the military. Yes or no? You said that earlier.
HEGSETH: Those are laws, Senator, set by Congress.
SLOTKIN: OK. So you will not go to -- to change it. You're not attempting to change it.
You also said that JAG officers are potentially people who put their own interests and their own medals and promotions ahead of the troops.
Senator Lindsey Graham was a JAG officer for most of his life. Is that what you believe about those who implement our justice system in the U.S. military?
HEGSETH: Senator, I was speaking about particular JAG officers I've had to deal with in my military career --
(CROSSTALK)
SLOTKIN: Are you going to get involved?
HEGSETH: -- a member of the United States Senate?
SLOTKIN: Are you, as secretary of defense, going to get involved in the implementation of the U.S. Military Code of Justice?
HEGSETH: Senator, ultimately, it will be a big part of my job to evaluate decisions vis a vis -
(CROSSTALK)
SLOTKIN: OK? I'll take that --
(CROSSTALK)
HEGSETH: -- Uniform Code of Military Justice --
(CROSSTALK)
SLOTKIN: Have you seen the --
HEGSETH: -- fairly.
SLOTKIN: Is C.Q. Brown on your list in the warrior boards to be removed from his position?
HEGSETH: Senator, every single senior officer will be reviewed based on meritocracy, standards and lethality, and commitment to lawful orders they will be given.
WICKER: Thank you. Senator Slotkin.
I now recognize Senator Shaheen for a unanimous consent request.
SEN. SHAHEEN (D-NH): Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I have a request from a former general who served 35 years, Dennis Lynch, who most recently was the commander of the 94th Regional Readiness Command at Fort Devens, Mass., who has asked that his letter opposing Mr. Hegseth's nomination be entered into the record.
WICKER: Is there objection? Without objection, it will be entered.
Also, I present a -- a host of letters and op-eds from former co- workers at Vets for Freedom and Concerned Vets for America, as well as FOX News channel.
I also have letters and op-eds from many veterans and Iraqis and Afghans who were helped by Mr. Hegseth.
I ask unanimous consent to introduce these letters and op-eds.
Without objection, is so ordered.
Senator Sheehy, you've been very patient.
SEN. TIM SHEEHY (R-MT): Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Entering a support letter in for Mr. Hegseth, submitted by nearly 90 former soldiers who served with Pete in combat.
I would like to submit a statement from 86 of them who support his nomination, although they come from different units and ranks.
The signatories commend Mr. Hegseth for his "selfless leadership, love of his soldiers and commitment to our country."
[13:40:05]
WICKER: Two items?
SHEEHY: Sorry, one item.
(CROSSTALK)
SHEEHY: I ask unanimous consent to enter this.
WICKER: Without objection, it will be entered.
SHEEHY: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Pete, I'm actually going to ask you questions because I want to hear your answer.
(LAUGHTER)
SHEEHY: How many genders are there? Tough one.
HEGSETH: Senator, there are two genders.
SHEEHY: I know that. Well, I'm a Sheehy, so I'm on board.
(LAUGHTER)
SHEEHY: What is the diameter of the rifle-round fired out of an M4A1 rifle?
HEGSETH: That's a .556.
SHEEHY: How many pushups can you do?
HEGSETH: I did five sets of 47 this morning.
SHEEHY: What do you think -- what do you think our most important strategic bases in the Pacific are in the Pacific.
HEGSETH: In the Pacific? Guam is pretty strategically significant.
SHEEHY: How many rounds of .556 can you fit into the magazine of an M4 rifle?
HEGSETH: Depends on the magazine, but standard issue is 30, Senator.
SHEEHY: And what size round is the M9 Beretta standard issue sidearm for the military fire?
HEGSETH: A .9 millimeter, Senator.
SHEEHY: What kind of batteries do you put in your night vision goggles?
HEGSETH: Duracell.
(LAUGHTER)
SHEEHY: So right there you're representing qualifications that show you understand what the warfighter deals with every single day on the battlefield. You understand what happens on the front line where our troops will be.
And what happens, unfortunately, in this country is decisions made in rooms like this, bad decisions end up in dead 17-, 18-, 19-year-old Americans.
And those Americans rarely come from families that sit in rooms like this. They come from lower-, middle-income families who sometimes the military is their only way out. And they join because maybe they want to go to college, maybe they had no other choice, maybe they love this country. But for whatever reason, they joined and they signed on the dotted line. And when people like us screw up, they don't come home.
And that's the one thing that I care about, is, you remember when I shut the door when you came with your entourage, Senator Coleman, I've known for a long time.
And you and I sat together. I asked you one question. You know what that question was?
HEGSETH: Are you going to have the backs of the war fighters?
SHEEHY: Exactly. What is going to be your number-one priority? And I don't care, frankly, what all these letters and articles say. I've been a part of a smear campaign, too, I get it.
I care that you're going to have one thing in mind when you sit in that chair in that five-sided building, and you told me what that was.
So with that, you have my support. I'm sorry you have to go through a process like this, but it is one of the most important jobs in the world. We've got to make sure you're ready for it.
I thank you for your answers.
I got one final question that's very important to me. This is more of a -- of a technical question.
But I think it's, to fix the Army in this country is a one or two-year problem. We can make bullets. We can make rifles. Fix the Air Force might be a five-year problem to fix. Our Navy is a decades-long pursuit.
How are you going to fix our national -- you don't have all the power. We're not -- we're not China. Unfortunately, you can't snap your fingers.
But how are you going to lead an initiative within the DOD to reinvigorate our national shipbuilding industry so we're able to compete with China? Because freedom of navigation is critical to our economy and the global economy. It's going to be a very important task for you to complete.
HEGSETH: It's a critical question, Senator, and that's why I'm grateful that President Trump has said definitively to me and publicly that shipbuilding will be one of his absolute top priorities of this administration.
So a lot of it does go into pulling things up into the OSD's office, secretary of defense's office to shine a spotlight on it, to make sure the bureaucracy -- bureaucracy doesn't strangle important initiatives that need to happen.
You need to -- we need to reinvigorate our defense industrial base in this country to include our shipbuilding capacity. Some of it is on the east, some of it is on the west, some of it's on the Great Lakes. The invest -- the workforce problems that our shipyards are facing are significant. And there's been a big investment from this committee, I know, in a lot of those places, because of the shortfalls, manpower issues, everything else.
But we also see adversaries that have been able to innovate themselves in ways that their shipbuilding capacity is -- I won't reveal it at this hearing -- multitudes and multitudes beyond our capabilities.
So it needs to be a rapid investment, a rapid fielding, and then we need to incentivize outside entities to fill the gap.
We've talked a lot about UAVs. UAVs are very important, but there's also a future of UUVs, unmanned underwater vehicles that will be a part of amplifying the impact of our Navy because our -- this administration has allowed our number of ships to drop below 300.
It sets a projection of 340 or 350 but doesn't create the capacity to actually address it.
And so if we're going to defend our interests, our allies, and put America first, we're going to have to be able to project power.
[13:45:01]
That means shipbuilding. It means historic investments in our defense industrial base there. And then also driving innovation and cost savings in ways that only business leaders inside the Pentagon can do.
SHEEHY: When -- I'd add, I don't think any board in the world would have hired Steve Jobs or Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg when -- when they founded their companies either.
So this country was founded by -- by young people who had a great vision.
Thank you for being willing to serve your country again. And thanks for coming here today.
I yield back, Chairman.
WICKER: Thank you, Senator Sheehy. You yield back the balance of your time.
Mr. Ranking Member, can we agree that you and I will notify members of a specific time until which the record will remain open for submission of questions for the record?
REED: Yes, Mr. Chairman.
WICKER: That that will be a day or two.
This concludes today's hearing. I want to thank the witnesses for -- and their families. And this hearing is adjourned.
HEGSETH: Thank you. (APPLAUSE)
DANA BASH, CNN HOST: And that wraps up a four hours and 15 minutes of questions, many times very heated questions from Democrats. Some very direct questions from Republicans.
But an, all in all, pretty partisan showing for a role that has not always been that way.
But Pete Hegseth has been under it, under the spotlight and being really peppered on questions about everything from his view of women in combat, particularly based on what he has said in the past. His personal experience with alleged drinking, drinking too much on the job. We'll get into that.
Alleged sexual assault, which he denied again. Questions about him recommending to Donald Trump, pardoning convicted war criminals. A tattoo that he has that has been suggested that is associated with extremist groups, which, again, he denied.
And really important questions about how he sees a job as secretary of defense vis a vis the commander-in-chief, particularly that commander- in-chief being Donald Trump.
And questions about what he views as the role of the secretary of defense when and if the president asks for military intervention in places that are not supposed to happen.
We have a lot to talk to, a lot to get to.
I want to go first to Kaitlan Collins, who is on Capitol Hill.
Kaitlan, you were in the hearing room. Anything that we should know about the vibe in there that we just couldn't see during these four- plus hours on television?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Dana, you can always see the questioning from these Senators and the answers and, of course, those who are seated right behind the-- the nominee, in this case, Pete Hegseth.
But in that room, in the rows behind him, I should note that as he entered the room, there was a large round of applause initially.
That's because the room was filled with Donald Trump's Republican allies on Capitol Hill. They we're also filled with veterans from different organizations supporting Mr. Hegseth and people from the MAGA media orbit there to support him.
Clearly engineered and structured to -- to show a level of support for him as soon as he walked into the room here.
And just as you were in there listening to the questioning, at times, you would hear those in the room respond to certain lines of questioning, whether it was from Senator Elizabeth Warren or from certain Republican Senators, as they we're going. But it was the level of questions that I should note Pete Hegseth's
team and Donald Trump's team, for that matter, was expecting him to get when he came into that room today in terms of grilling over the past allegations of sexual assault, excessive drinking and financial mismanagement of those veterans organizations that he ran.
And those were all questions, you know, starting with Jack Reed, initially, the chairman, the ranking chairman on the committee, as he was saying, you know, talking about all the other cabinet nominees that had come before him.
But particularly defense secretaries that he has supported, while making very clear that he does not plan to support Pete Hegseth.
Now, there was a lot of aggressive questioning from these Democratic Senators, in particular, Senator Tim Kaine himself.
Really was drilling down on those allegations against Pete Hegseth and his acknowledgment that he did have a sexual relationship with the woman who later accused him of sexual assault, that it was at the center of that agreement. He has denied that it was sexual assault.
[13:50:00]
But really, Dana, the outcome of that hearing that you just watched there play out for a few hours, rises and falls with the Republicans on that committee.
So I was paying very close attention to their questioning. And Senator Joni Ernst, who maybe was the most watched Republican Senator on this committee, started her seven minutes by entering into the record a letter that had a very positive recommendation of Pete Hegseth.
Now, she did ask him about sexual assault in the military and a promise to appoint someone to essentially have a senior role in the Pentagon to oversee that issue, that she herself has personally worked on.
But then it was when Senator Elizabeth Warren was asking her questions, and she was asking Pete Hegseth how he could so quickly change his position on something as women being in the military.
Which we heard from him just in November after his book came out saying he doesn't believe women belong in combat positions in the military.
Elizabeth Warren was asking how he could change his mind on that so quickly, obviously seeming to suggest that it was because simply that he was nominated by President-elect Trump to be his defense secretary.
I was watching Senator Joni Ernst during that time. She was watching very closely, staring straight ahead with a bit of a stone faced expression on as Senator Elizabeth Warren was conducting that questioning.
But judging by the pretty warm reception he got from Republican Senators, that gives you a pretty good indication of how that hearing went from Hegseth's team's perspective.
BASH: Yes, no question about it.
And I think you're right about Joni Ernst. The fact that she made a point of entering a positive story or an op-ed in her hometown paper.
That was a tell and a signal back home, certainly, that maybe she's listening to the conservatives, who we're part of a very, very aggressive campaign to try to get her to support Pete Hegseth.
We'll talk a little bit more about that and play some of that exchange in a bit.
Kaitlan, thank you so much.
Now I want to go to Manu Raju, who I believe is outside the hearing room.
There you are, Manu. Manu, your takeaway?
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, actually, in fact, Joni Ernst just walked out of the hearing room and was asked by reporters about what she would do. She did not respond to questions about her -- whether she will back him.
This actually could be the decisive vote on this key committee that she's been closely watched. She had been moving closer to backing Pete Hegseth. Of course we expect, excuse me, most, if not all of those Democrats especially, particularly given that aggressive line of questioning from Democrats to vote against Hegseth.
So that means the Republican support will be essential to getting him across the finish line. And if Ernst is on board, probably we expect every single Republican there to be on board.
And the question ultimately will be on the full Senate, the Senate floor itself, where he, Hegseth, can only afford to lose three Republicans Senator.
Senator, Senator Wicker, Senator Wicker, can you respond -- can you respond to the criticism -- can you respond to the criticism that the FBI background check was incomplete and did not interview enough of these accusers from decades past?
And why aren't the -- why isn't the full committee have access to the FBI background check?
WICKER: Well, let me just say, from the outset, though, that this was a tour de force, a takedown, a triumph.
I think Mr. Hicks has had three audiences the committee, the United States Senate and the American general public. I think it was a magnificent display of his knowledge and his ability to communicate, his leadership abilities.
And I feel very good about this hearing today. I don't think it could have gone any better.
RAJU: What about the FBI background check? Specifically, complete. The question, the criticism from Jack Reed, the criticism from Jack Reed there was not a complete background check, that you hear from a lot of Democratic Senators, this was not a complete background check. What do you say to them?
WICKER: Well, of course, an answer to your question, we followed the precedent from the committee for the last two nominations by a Democratic president and a Republican president.
I don't have any complaints about the FBI investigation. They did a thorough interview of persons at all the places where Mr. Hegseth has lived and worked, and I don't have any objection to that.
RAJU: Why didn't they interview the accuser of that sexual assault from 2017?
WICKER: I don't think she wanted to -- to speak. And they interviewed some 60 or more witnesses and three asked not to be identified.
RAJU: And what about the ex-wives? Were the ex-wives - were the ex- wives interviewed?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: -- the committee should have heard from the accuser and Hegseth ex-wives?
[13:55:59]
WICKER: I think the committee has -- has been adequately advised. And I think, basically, it seems that the committee members have made up their minds.
I think the significant thing about this hearing today is that the American people got to see what a talented advocate Mr. Hegseth is. And -- and what a knowledgeable secretary of defense he will be.
(CROSSTALK)
WICKER: Now, let me run.
(CROSSTALK)
WICKER: Let me run. I have only a -- I have only a few more minutes.
RAJU: For John Tower, though, you allowed this -- this committee allowed the full committee to review the FBI background check.
WICKER: I was in tennis shoes and knee pants when that occurred.
RAJU: When will the vote be? When will the vote be in the committee? When will the vote be in the committee, Senator?,
WICKER: I don't know. RAJU: Don't know. OK. All right.
Well, if you're still with me, Dana --
BASH: I'm here.
RAJU: -- a couple of headlines out of this. You hear that? OK. So I don't know if you heard that last part. He, of course, is the chairman of the committee, sets the votes on when their actual -- the Armed Services Committee would take this up. He said they have. He doesn't know yet when they will have the vote.
But you heard his effusive praise of Pete Hegseth. He had not said a whole lot, tipped his hand on how he may view this nomination, or how he did view this nomination until we heard this hearing. He was very supportive coming out of there.
But also, significantly, he and Jack Reed, the top Democrat, are the only two members who have reviewed this FBI background check. You heard that complaints from the Democrats throughout this hearing.
There's some criticism from Democrats that this is a, quote, "incomplete investigation." It didn't go into a lot of those allegations from his past.
And one of the things is that apparently not interviewing the accuser of that 2017 episode where he was accused Hegseth was of sexual assault back in Monterey, California. Why didn't that happen? That was a question.
Wicker suggested that perhaps the accuser did not want to be interviewed. We'll see where -- how that bears out.
But that was interesting. The first time we heard him there.
He also said there were about 60 witnesses or so who were interviewed, didn't seem to have any issues whatsoever about the incomplete nature. Democrats say it was incomplete. That's not how Roger Wicker said there.
And also, I tried to ask him about there is precedent in this committee to allow the full access of all the members who sit on this panel to review a background check.
That happened with John Tower. He was the last cabinet nominee, defense secretary nominee to be rejected by the full Senate over allegations of excessive drinking, members did review at that time.
I said, well, why not now? And he said he was in tennis shoes and wasn't a member of the Senate back then. That was for some time ago.
So you can see a push by the Republican chairman to get this nomination done. And if he's got Republicans in line, which he appears to have at the moment, he will get this done, despite the Democratic complaints from this very tense hearing -- Dana? BASH: Yes, we were -- we were all in tennis shoes and knee pants,
whatever he said, when the John Tower thing happened. But we also have history books, so we know what went down.
And I'll be interested to see what Jack Reed, the top Democrat on that committee, who has been a member of that committee for a very long time, who mentioned the tower situation during the hearing, what he has to say about the FBI background check, whether or not other members will see it.
And also, about that point that really struck us here, that Senator Wicker, Chairman Wicker said to you, Manu, which is he alleged that the accuser from that alleged sexual assault encounter, which Hegseth denies, didn't want to talk to the FBI.
That's definitely something that everybody is going to follow up on.
Appreciate it. Let us know if you see anybody else, Manu.
I want to now go over to Oren Lieberman, who covers the Pentagon for us.
Oren, of course, there has been so much and certainly bore out during this committee, the confirmation process about his personal background, about the questions, about allegations.
There also were and are very important questions about policy, defense policy and his qualifications.
There, you see Pete Hegseth is walking out of what we believe will likely be his one and only confirmation hearing.
What was your takeaway on what he said about some of those policies? I mean, we're going to talk a lot about women in combat. So you can mention that if you want. There's LGBTQ members in the military. We heard a lot of Republicans talking about DEI in the ranks.
But also some questions to him about specific roles, specific treaties, for example, like ASEAN and coalitions, international coalitions that he will have to lead the U.S. on and in.
And it wasn't clear whether or not he gave the Senators asking those questions satisfactory answers.
[13:59:56]
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: There were a number of points here on which his lack of experience was very much on full display for the committee, and essentially the reaction to that broke down on -- on partisan lines.
Democrats, effectively appalled by it and said that it showed he didn't have the experience --
