Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) wasn’t having it when Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth suddenly claimed to support women serving in combat roles.
“Women in our military, as I have said publicly, have and continue to make amazing contributions across all aspects of our battlefield,” Hegseth said during his Senate confirmation hearing, despite several public claims that women in combat make the military weaker.
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Pete Hegseth grilled by Democrats over past comments & behavior against women
Hegseth largely deflected questions, refusing to answer when asked if he would betray allies and shoot protestors under Trump.
During Warren’s line of questioning, she read a list of the many times Hegseth blasted the idea of women in combat. She included dates, quotes, and media outlets where he spoke about these beliefs.
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“I’ve heard of death bed conversions,” she said, “but this is the first time I’ve heard of a nomination conversion.”
Elizabeth Warren has receipts of all the times Hegseth said women shouldn't serve in combat roles — he's said it many many times
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) January 14, 2025 at 11:23 AM
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The hearing included numerous questions about the former Fox News host’s alleged drinking problems, allegations of sexual assault and past statements opposing women serving in military combat roles. In many instances under questioning from Democratic senators, Hegseth deflected or avoided answering questions directly.
Shortly after being named as Trump’s nominee, media reports revealed that Hegseth was accused by his own mother of abusing women and by previous coworkers of drinking on the job and sexually pursuing female colleagues. He had also been previously accused of paying off a woman who accused him of raping her while they attended a Republican conference in 2017 and of racking up over $400,000 in debt while serving as president of the organization Veterans for Freedom.
Hegseth repeatedly said during his hearing that the accusations against him were a “coordinated smear campaign orchestrated in the media against us.”
Warren wasn’t the only one who questioned his change of heart on women in combat. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) noted that Hegseth has repeatedly argued women should not be allowed to serve in combat roles because they’re not as “capable” as men.
Referring to Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Joni Ernst (R-IA), Sen. Shaheen asked Hegseth, “Should we take it that you believe that the two women on this committee who have served honorably and with distinction made our military less effective and less capable?”
Later, Shaheen asked, “Why should women in our military, if you were the secretary of Defense, believe that they would have a fair shot at an equal opportunity to rise through the ranks if, on the one hand you say that women are not competent, they make our military less effective, and on the other hand, you say, ‘Oh no, now that I’ve been nominated to be the secretary of Defense, I’ve changed my view.’
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