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Pete Hegseth Questioned in Confirmation Hearing; Inside the Hearing: Hegseth: Women Will Have Access to Ground Combat Roles But Standards Must Remain High. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired January 14, 2025 - 11:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[11:30:00]

HIRONO: As part of my responsibility as a member of this Committee to ensure the fitness of all nominees to come before any of the Committees on which I sit, I ask the following two initial questions.

First, since you became a legal adult, have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors or committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature?

HEGSETH: No, Senator.

HIRONO: Have you ever faced discipline or entered into a settlement relating to this kind of conduct?

HEGSETH: Senator, I was falsely accused in October of 2017. It was fully investigated and I was completely cleared.

HIRONO: I don't think completely cleared is accurate. But the fact is that your own lawyer said that you entered into an NDA, paid a person who accused you of raping her a sum of money to make sure that she did not file a complaint. Moving on, as Secretary, you will be in charge of maintaining good order and discipline by enforcing the Uniform Code of Military Justice, UCMJ.

In addition to the sexual assault allegations, and by the way, the answer to my second question should have been yes. I have read multiple reports of your regularly being drunk at work, including by people who worked with you at Fox News. Do you know that being drunk at work is prohibited for service members under the UCMJ?

HEGSETH: Senator, those are...

HIRONO: Yes or no.

HEGSETH: ... multiple false, anonymous reports peddled by NBC News...

HIRONO: Do you know that drinking on the job is...

HEGSETH: ... that run directly contradictory to the dozens of men and women at Fox News Channel who I work with who came on the record and said...

HIRONO: I'm not hearing -- I'm not hearing the answer to my question. In your opening statement, Mr. Hegseth, you commit to holding leaders accountable at all levels. That includes you, of course. And frankly, as Secretary, you will be on the job 24/7.

You recently promised some of my Republican colleagues that you stopped drinking, won't drink if confirmed, correct?

HEGSETH: Absolutely.

HIRONO: Will you resign as Secretary of Defense if you drink on the job, which is a 24/7 position?

HEGSETH: I've made this commitment on behalf of...

HIRONO: Will you resign as Secretary of Defense if you drink on the job?

HEGSETH: ... commitment on behalf of the men and women I am serving...

HIRONO: I am not hearing...

HEGSETH: ... it's the most important deployment of my life.

HIRONO: ... not hearing an answer to my question so I am going to move on. While you have made that commitment, you will not commit to resigning if you drink on the job.

As Secretary of Defense, you will swear an -- swear an oath to the Constitution and not an oath to any man, woman, or president, correct?

HEGSETH: Senator, on multiple occasions, including as a young Second Lieutenant, I have sworn an oath to the Constitution...

HIRONO: Answer is yes.

HEGSETH: ... and I'm proud to do so, yes, ma'am.

HIRONO: In June of 2020, then-President Trump directed former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to shoot protesters in the legs in downtown D.C., an order Secretary Esper refused to comply with. Would you carry out such an order from President Trump?

HEGSETH: Senator, I was in the Washington, D.C. National Guard unit that was in Lafayette Square during those...

HIRONO: Would you carry out an order to shoot protesters in the legs...

HEGSETH: ... I saw 50 Secret...

HIRONO: ... as directed to Secretary Esper?

HEGSETH: ... by rioters trying to jump over the fence...

HIRONO: Again...

HEGSETH: ... set a church on fire, and destroyed... HIRONO: You know what? That sounds to me that you will comply with such an order, you will shoot protesters in the leg -- in the leg.

Moving on. President-elect has attacked our allies in recent weeks, refusing to rule out using military force to take over Greenland, the Panama Canal, and the -- threatening to take -- to make Canada the 51st state. Would 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?

HEGSETH: Senator, I -- I will emphasize that President Trump received 77 million votes to be the lawful Commander-in-Chief...

HIRONO: We're not talking about the election. My question is would you use our military to take over Greenland or -- an ally of -- of -- of Denmark?

HEGSETH: Senator, one of the things that President Trump is so good at is never strategically tipping his hand. And so I would never in this public forum give one way or another to...

(CROSSTALK)

HIRONO: ... that sounds to me...

HEGSETH: ... in any context.

HIRONO: That sounds to me that you would contemplate carrying out such an order to basically invade Greenland and take over the Panama Canal.

Current DOD policy allows service members and eligible dependents to be reimbursed for travel associated with non-covered reproductive healthcare, including abortions. Will you maintain this common sense policy?

[11:35:00]

HEGSETH: Senator, I've always been personally pro-life, I know President Trump has as well, and we will review all policies, but our -- our standard is whatever the President wants on this particular issue...

HIRONO: OK, so if the President tells you that this common sense policy will not be maintained, you will not enable our service members to seek reproductive care? So this sounds like...

(CROSSTALK)

HIRONO: ... I'm not hearing the answers to my questions, Mr. Chairman. I just want to note that the other -- other area that -- of -- of serious concern to me is President Trump saying that he wants to use the military to help -- help with mass deportations, which will cost billions of dollars. And what that will do to readiness is very, very concerning.

Mr. Hegseth, I have noticed a disturbing pattern. You previously have made a series of inflammatory statements about women in combat, LGBTQ service members, Muslim Americans, and a -- a -- Democrats. Since your nominations, however, you have walked those back on TV in interviews and most recently in your opening statements. You are no longer on Fox & Friends, Mr. Hegseth.

If confirmed, your words, actions, and decisions will have real impacts on national security and our service members' lives. There are close to three million personnel in the Department of Defense, $900 billion budget. I hardly think you are prepared to do the job.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

WICKER: Thank -- thank you. That wasn't a question, Mr. Hegseth. Thank you, Senator Hirono.

Senator Sullivan?

SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And Mr. Hegseth, congratulations on your nomination and thank you and your family for your service and sacrifice.

HEGSETH: Thank you, Senator.

SULLIVAN: Now for the most important question you will receive all day. In 1935 before the Congress, the father of the United States Air Force, General Billy Mitchell, was testifying about a certain place in the world. He said, quote, "I believe that in the future, whoever holds this place will control the world. This location is the most strategic place in the world." What place was Billy Mitchell talking about? And let me give you a hint -- it wasn't Greenland.

(LAUGHTER)

HEGSETH: I believe he was talking about the great state of Alaska...

SULLIVAN: He was talking about the great state of Alaska. Great answer. If confirmed, will you commit to come with me to the great state of Alaska and meet our warriors who are on the front lines every day?

HEGSETH: Senator, I have. And as I mentioned to you in the past, I did a brief training exercise up at Fort Wainwright at a -- at a previous part of my military life. I look forward to returning.

SULLIVAN: Great. And -- and I will say we are on the front lines with this new era of authoritarian aggression in Alaska. The last two years, we've had Chinese and Russian naval task forces, joint strategic bomber task forces in our EEZ, in our (inaudible).

And after his election, President Trump put out an extensive statement on Alaska which included the following statement -- "We will ensure Alaska gets even more defense investments as we fully rebuild our military, especially as Russia and China are making menacing moves in the Pacific."

Mr. Hegseth, if confirmed, will you work with me, this committee, and the incoming Commander-in-Chief on continuing to build up our military assets and infrastructure in Alaska to reestablish deterrence in the Arctic and in the Indo-Pacific?

HEGSETH: If confirmed, Senator, it would be a pleasure to work alongside you and this entire committee to recognize the very real threat in the Indo-Pacific, the very real ways, even these past couple of weeks, that Russia has attempted to probe and push in and around Alaska, and also the very real strategic significance of Alaska vis-a- vis shipping lanes through the Arctic.

There are many, many ways in which Alaska is -- is strategically significant. And with a shift toward -- a necessary shift toward INDOPACOM, Alaska, by necessity, will play an important role in that.

SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Hegseth. I very much appreciate your focus on lethality in warfighting. We desperately need it.

I want to provide a few examples of the Biden woke military which has not focused on readiness or lethality, and want to get your comments on it.

Nobody wants an extremist or racist in our military, but one of the most disgraceful and shameful things I've seen over the past four years as a senator on this committee and as a Marine Corps Reserve officer was on day one, the Biden administration played up a false and insulting narrative that our military was chock-full of racists and violent extremists.

[11:40:00]

This reached a pinnacle in this committee when Biden's undersecretary of policy, Colin Kahl, the number-three guy at the Pentagon, testified that one of his top goals would be, quote, "ending violent extremism and systemic racism within the ranks of the military." He had no data on this. The media loved it, fanned the flames, wrote baloney stories on this false narrative. Disappointingly, some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle here reinforced this ridiculative narr- --- ridiculous narrative, one even suggesting that almost 10 percent of our uniformed military was extremists, 200,000 members -- ridiculous, by the way, from this committee on the other side of the aisle.

Mr. Hegseth, unlike Undersecretary Kahl, you have a lot of experience with our military. Do you believe the military is a systemically- racist organization? And if confirmed, will you commit to defend, not denigrate our troops?

HEGSETH: Senator, I was also offended by those comments because anyone who's been on active duty in the National Guard, man, woman, in units, understand that is fundamentally false.

SULLIVAN: By the way, there's three studies -- to his credit, Secretary Austin put out one of them -- that said exactly what you just said: fundamentally false.

HEGSETH: Senator, they knew it. Anyone who'd been in a unit knew it. The -- one could argue that if not the least, one of the least-racist institutions in our country is the United States military.

SULLIVAN: That's right.

HEGSETH: Being a racist in our military has not been tolerated for a very long time, never in my formations, never in other formations.

SULLIVAN: One of the greatest civil rights organizations in Amer- -- would you agree, the U.S. military is one of the most forward-leaning, probably one of the greatest civil rights organizations in American history?

HEGSETH: No doubt, no doubt.

SULLIVAN: Let me turn to another one. Last year, at a hearing before this committee, I called on the -- Biden's secretary of the Navy to resign because he's failing in his ability to build ships. We are being completely outbuilt in terms of ships by the Chinese, and yet, this secretary of the Navy has been focused on climate change, not building ships and lethality. Mr. Secret- -- Mr. Hegseth, if you're secretary of the Navy ends up focusing on climate change more than shipbuilding and lethality, will you commit to me to fire him?

HEGSETH: My secretary of the Navy, should I be confirmed, sir, will not be focused on climate change in the Navy, just like the secretary of the Air Force won't be focused on LG-powered fighter jets, or the secretary of the Army will not be focused on electric-powered tanks.

SULLIVAN: Let me ask on one other...

HEGSETH: We're going to be focused on lethality...

SULLIVAN: I have one minute left.

HEGSETH: ... and defeating our enemy.

SULLIVAN: And I appreciate that. The other thing President Biden did -- his first executive order as president was to focus on transgender surgeries for active-duty troops. This is all -- I'm describing the woke military here under Biden over the last four years. If confirmed, and you issued an order saying we are going to rip the Biden woke yoke off the neck of our military and focus on lethality and warfighting, how do you think the troops will react?

HEGSETH: Senator, I know the troops will rejoice.

SULLIVAN: They will love it?

HEGSETH: They will love it. And we've already seen it in recruiting numbers. There's already been a surge since President Trump won the election of recruiting. The Army said (inaudible).

SULLIVAN: So you think our military will -- that our military will follow that order?

HEGSETH: Our military will follow that order, Senator.

SULLIVAN: Gladly?

HEGSETH: Gladly, because they want to focus on lethality and warfighting, and get all the woke political prerogative, politically- correct social justice political stuff out of the military.

WICKER: Thank you, Senator Sullivan.

SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

WICKER: Senator King?

KING: Thank you.

Mr. Hegseth, I'm looking forward to this opportunity to talk. I want to return to the incident that you referenced a minute ago that occurred in Monterey, California in October, 2017. At that time, you were still married to your second wife, correct?

HEGSETH: I believe so.

KING: And you had just fathered a child by a woman who would later become your third wife, correct?

HEGSETH: Senator, I was falsely charged.

KING: Did you...

HEGSETH: Fully investigated and completely cleared.

KING: So you think you are completely cleared because you committed no crime. That's your definition of cleared? You had just fathered a child two months before by a woman that was not your wife. I am shocked that you would stand here and say you're completely cleared. Can you so casually cheat on a second wife and cheat on the mother of a child that had been born two months before, and you tell us you are completely cleared?

HEGSETH: Senator...

KING: How is that a complete clear?

HEGSETH: Senator, her child's name is Gwendolyn Hope Hegseth, and she's a child of God, and she's seven years old. I'm glad she's here.

[11:45:00]

KING: And she was -- and -- and you cheated on the mother of that child less than two months after that daughter was born, didn't you?

HEGSETH: Those were false charges.

KING: (inaudible)...

HEGSETH: It was fully investigated and I was completely cleared, and I am so grateful...

KING: You -- you -- you did -- you (inaudible)...

HEGSETH: ... for the marriage I have to this woman behind me.

KING: No, you've admitted -- you've admitted that you had sex at that hotel in October, 2017. You said it was consensual. Isn't that correct?

HEGSETH: Anything...

KING: You've admitted that it was consensual, and you were still married and you'd just had a child by another woman.

HEGSETH: Again...

KING: How -- how do you explain your judgment?

HEGSETH: Completely false charges against me.

KING: You -- you -- no...

HEGSETH: Fully investigated and I was completely cleared.

KING: You -- 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?

HEGSETH: It was a false claim then and a false claim now.

KING: If it had been a sexual assault, that would be disqualifying to be a secretary of defense, wouldn't it?

HEGSETH: That was a false claim.

KING: So you can't...

HEGSETH: You're talking about a hypothetical.

KING: So you can't tell me whether someone who has committed a sexual assault is disqualified from being secretary of defense?

HEGSETH: Senator, I know in my instance -- and I'm talking about my instance only -- it was a false claim.

KING: But you acknowledged it was...

HEGSETH: And it was fully investigated.

KING: But you acknowledged 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.

HEGSETH: I will allow your words to speak for themselves.

KING: You're not retracting that today. That's good. I assume that in each of your weddings, you've pledged to be faithful to your wife. You've taken an oath to do that, haven't you?

HEGSETH: Senator, as I've acknowledged to everyone in this committee, I'm not a perfect person; not claiming to be.

KING: But -- no, I just asked a simple question. You've taken an oath like you would take an oath to be secretary of defense, in all of your weddings, to be faithful to your wife. Is that correct?

HEGSETH: I have failed in things in my life, and thankfully, I'm redeemed by my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

KING: In -- in finalizing divorces from your first and second wives, were there nondisclosure agreements in connection with those divorces?

HEGSETH: Senator, not that I'm aware of.

KING: If there were, would you agree to release those first and second wives from any confidentiality agreement?

HEGSETH: Senator, it's not something I'm aware of.

KING: But -- but if there were, you would agree to release them from a confidentiality agreement?

HEGSETH: Senator, that's not my responsibility.

KING: Did you ever engage in any acts of physical violence against any of your wives?

HEGSETH: Senator, absolutely not.

KING: But you 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?

HEGSETH: Senator, absolutely not have I ever done that.

KING: You would agree that that would be a disqualifying offense, would you not?

HEGSETH: Senator, you're talking about a hypothetical.

KAINE: I don't think it's a hypothetical. Violence against spouses occurs every day. And if you as a leader are not capable of saying that physical violence against a spouse should be a disqualifying fact for being Secretary of the most powerful nation in the world, you're demonstrating an astonishing lack of judgment.

The incident in Monterey led to a criminal charge, a criminal investigation, a private settlement, and a cash payment to the woman who filed the complaint. And there was also a non-disclosure agreement, correct?

HEGSETH: It was a confidential settlement agreement off of a nuisance lawsuit. Right.

KAINE: During an interview, you claimed that you settled the matter because you were worried that if it became public, it might hurt your career. Do you maintain that you were blackmailed?

HEGSETH: Senator, I maintain that false claims were made against me. And ultimately, those false claims...

KAINE: Your attorney...

HEGSETH: I had the opportunity to attest my innocence in those false claims.

KAINE: But you didn't reveal any of this to President Trump or the transition team as they were considering you to be nominated for Secretary of Defense. You didn't reveal the action. You didn't reveal the criminal complaint. You didn't reveal the criminal investigation. You didn't reveal the settlement. You didn't reveal the cash payment.

Why didn't you inform the commander-in-chief or the transition team of this very relevant event?

HEGSETH: Senator, I've appreciated every part of the process with the transition team. They have been open and honest with me. We've had great conversations between the two of us, and I appreciate the opportunity that President-elect Trump has given me.

KAINE: But you chose not to reveal this, right? Because you knew it would hurt your chances. So, you chose not to reveal this really important thing to the commander-in-chief or the transition team because you were worried about your chances rather than trying to be candid with the future president of the United States.

Are there any other important facts that you chose not to reveal to the president-elect and his team as they were considering you to be Secretary of Defense?

HEGSETH: Senator, I sit here before you in open book as everyone who's watched this process.

KAINE: With multiple non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements tying the hands of many people who would like to comment to us. Much has been made of your workplace behavior as a leader of nonprofit veterans organizations and as a Fox News contributor, were you fired from either of the leadership positions with the nonprofits?

[11:50:00]

HEGSETH: I was the leader. I was the CEO of Conservative Veterans for America...

KAINE: I know which one (inaudible)...

(CROSSTALK)

HEGSETH: ... and executive director of Vets for Freedom. KAINE: Were you fired -- were you fired from either of them?

HEGSETH: And I was never fired from a veterans organization.

KAINE: Do you have non -- do you have non-disclosure agreements with either of those organizations?

HEGSETH: Not that I'm aware of, Senator.

KAINE: Many of your work colleagues have said that you show up for work under the influence of alcohol or drunk. I know you've 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.

HEGSETH: Senator, those are all anonymous false claims and the totality of...

KAINE: They're not -- they're not anonymous.

HEGSETH: The letters on the record here.

KAINE: They're not anonymous.

HEGSETH: On the record, work records with...

(CROSSTALK)

KAINE: You've seen names (inaudible) for Freedom, Concerned Vets for America, and Fox News (inaudible) your colleagues said everyday...

(CROSSTALK)

HEGSETH: (Inaudible) working hard on behalf of my mission.

KAINE: One of your colleagues said that you got drunk at an event at a bar and chanted, "Kill all Muslims". Another colleague, not anonymous, we have this, said that you took co-workers to a strip club. You were drunk, you tried to dance with strippers, you had to be held off the stage. And one of your employees in that event filed a sexual harassment charge as a result of it.

Now, I know you deny these things, but isn't that the kind of behavior that, if it's true, would be disqualifying for somebody to be Secretary of Defense?

HEGSETH: Senator, anonymous false charges.

KAINE: They're not anonymous.

HEGSETH: And I'll just conclude and say this to the chairman. You claim that this was all anonymous. We have seen records with names attached to all of these, including the name of your own mother. So, don't make this into some anonymous press thing.

We have seen multiple names of colleagues consistently throughout your career that have talked about your abusive actions, attitudes, words, and statements.

UNKNOWN: Chairman, I think he's over his time. He's way over his time.

KAINE: I now yield.

WICKER: And thank you very much.

I now ask unanimous consent to enter into the record a family court order concerning the appointment of parenting time between Mr. 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 now -- we now move to Senator Cramer.

CRAMER: 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 this behavior.

But first, I want to say thank you for your strong proclamation, 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 Christ.

And 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." You are going to have a great future as our Secretary. And I look forward to that day happening.

I just want to get back to you mentioned and it got rather dismissed quickly, pivoted as a lot of things do. You'd mentioned that you were not able to serve with your National Guard unit in the protection of the inauguration of Joe Biden because of a tattoo, a Christian tattoo. Can you elaborate just a little bit on what is this very offensive, extremist, racist tattoo that you have?

HEGSETH: It's a tattoo I have right here, Senator. It's called the Jerusalem Cross. It's a historic Christian symbol. In fact, interestingly, recently, we -- I attended briefly the memorial ceremony of former President Jimmy Carter on the floor of our National Cathedral. On the front page of his program was the very same Jerusalem Cross. It is a Christian religious symbol.

And when the events happened before preceding the Biden inauguration, I was a part of the mobilization to defend that inauguration, as someone who'd been a proud supporter of Donald Trump, but also a member of the military, had orders to come to Washington, D.C. to guard that inauguration. And at the last minute, those orders were revoked. [11:55:00]

I never had orders revoked before. I've been on orders to a lot of places to do a lot of difficult and dangerous things. They were revoked and I was not told why. Later, when I wrote my book, I was able to get information. It was because I had been identified as someone who'd served in Iraq and Afghanistan, in Guantanamo Bay, holding a riot shield outside the White House.

I'd been identified as an extremist, someone unworthy of guarding the inauguration of an incoming American president. And if that's happening to me, Senator, how many other men and women, how many other patriots, how many other people of conscience?

We haven't even talked about COVID and the tens of thousands of servicemembers who are kicked out because of an experimental vaccine. In President Trump's Defense Department, they will be apologized to. They will be reinstituted with pay and rank.

Things like focusing on extremism, Senator, have created a climate inside our ranks that feel political when it hasn't ever been political. Those are the types of things that are going to change.

And Senator Sullivan, you mentioned that study. After a whole study was held, extremism working group study, a 100 extremists were identified in the ranks of 3 million. And most of those were gang related. So, it's a made up boogeyman to begin with.

CRAMER: You, Mr. Hegseth, are not the extremist. The people who would deny you your expression of faith are the extremists. They're the racists. They're the bigots. You're the one that is protecting their right to be one. Thank you for that.

I want to go to your, another point in your opening statement, and it's summarized in this beautiful one sentence paragraph. You said, quote, "Leaders at all levels will be held accountable. And war fighting and lethality and the readiness of the troops and their families will be our only focus."

At that moment, in my mind's eye, I heard soldiers, airmen, Marines, sailors, guardians from the Pentagon to the Pacific and everywhere in between applaud. Applaud. And they're thinking it's about time. I can get on board with that idea.

And quite honestly -- and I want to get to this because I think it's so important. I would say not -- I don't know. Just about every -- maybe everyone, I'm trying to think of an exception to this, that wears the uniform that has ever come before this committee or that I've met with privately, publicly, that I've been on tours with, that I've traveled with, that wear the uniform, whether it's with four stars or no stars, agrees with that statement.

And I just want to caution you, and I'd be interested in your feedback on this. You know, there's been a lot of talk about firing woke generals, creating the purge group and all those things you and I have talked about. I would say, give those men and women a chance under new leadership.

You know, my favorite painting in the rotunda is of George Washington retiring his commission, establishing on day one, a man who could have been king chose to be a civilian leader of this country. And I just -- I just would encourage you to trust them first and look forward to them saluting the civilian leadership of this -- of this country.

So, just maybe if you could spend a minute just elaborating a little bit about the wokeness, where it comes from and who will be held accountable.

HEGSETH: The wokeness comes not from the uniform ranked Senator, but from the political class on day one. On January 20th, when president Trump is sworn in, he will issue a new set of lawful orders.

And the leadership of our services will have an opportunity to follow those lawful orders or not. Those lawful orders will not be based on politics. They will be based on readiness, accountability, standards, and lethality. That is the process by which leaders will be judged.

And accountability is coming, because everybody in this room knows if you're a rifleman and you lose your rifle, they're throwing the book at you. But if you're a general who loses a war, you get a promotion. That's not going to happen in Donald Trump's Pentagon.

There will be real standards for success. Everyone from the top, from the most senior general to the most lowly private, will ensure that they're treated fairly, men and women inside that system.

CRAMER: I also just want to commend you for your answers to Senator Fischer's questions about nuclear deterrence, but I also appreciate the fact that you emphasized reputational deterrence, because deterrence is not a weapon system. It is an attitude and you project an attitude of deterrence. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

WICKER: Thank you, Senator Cramer.

Senator King?

KING: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Hegseth, welcome to the committee.

HEGSETH: Thank you, Senator.

KING: You've made several references to your religion today. I share that devotion to Christianity. But I must say I've been reminded somewhat of Saul on his way to Damascus. You seem to have been converted over the last several weeks and several months.

[12:00:00]