The softer rhetoric comes as the former Fox News host and Army National Guard veteran has been meeting with female Republican senators who have registered concerns about his nomination. 

Hegseth had previously argued that gay people serving openly in the military is part of a larger “Marxist” agenda in his book The War on Warriors, which was published earlier this year. The 44-year-old described the original “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and its repeal in 2011 under President Barack Obama as a “gateway” to a wider ideological and cultural change in the armed forces that has weakened military effectiveness.

However, it appears he is distancing himself from those views amid his visits to Capitol Hill. When asked by reporters following a meeting with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Thursday whether he supports gays serving in the military, he said, “Yes,” according to reporting from Politico.

Hegseth also used a Monday interview on Fox News to dismiss the idea that he opposed female service members. On the Shawn Ryan Show podcast in November, he suggested they should not be in combat roles.

“Some of our greatest warriors, our best warriors out there, are women who serve, raise their right hand to defend this country and love our nation, want to defend that flag, and they do it every single day around the globe,” Hegseth told Fox News’s Sean Hannity.

The comment came after his second meeting with Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), a combat veteran.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said she directly questioned Hegseth about his comments from the Nov. 7 podcast during a 90-minute meeting on Wednesday. 

When asked if he seemed inclined to alter his stance, Collins told reporters, “Yes. I’m not going to get into specifics, but I did bring that up, and I pressed him on it since that’s an issue that matters to me.”

Hegseth had been in political survival mode after facing accusations of sexual assault stemming from a 2017 incident that he said was consensual. He also is facing allegations involving alcohol abuse and accusations that he mismanaged two conservative veterans’ groups. Hegseth denies the allegations.

Senate Republicans will hold a 53 to 47 majority in the next Congress, which means Trump can only afford three defections to get Hegseth confirmed if all members of the Democratic caucus oppose him. 

Hegseth’s odds of confirmation appear to be improving, as some senators have begun to sound more positive following their meetings with him. 

Ernst, who has been a leader in the fight against sexual assault in the military and has spoken out about being sexually assaulted herself, said Hegseth is “very supportive of women in the military.” 

In a statement, she said Hegseth agreed to appoint a high-ranking official to “uphold the roles and value of our servicemen and women — based on quality and standards, not quotas.” She also said he vowed to combat sexual assault in the military.