The former Fox News host promised to be a “change agent” for a department that he argued, like many Republicans have, has strayed from its mission of lethality and defending U.S. interests abroad. Republicans on the committee defended and praised his nomination and President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to overhaul the Department of Defense, while Democrats grilled him over concerns that his past disqualifies him from the role.

Despite the Democrats’ attacks, they are largely powerless to stop his nomination and any of Trump’s Cabinet selections. The Democrats need at least three Republicans to vote against any nomination to block the nominee from assuming the role.

HEGSETH FIGHTS BACK AGAINST ‘SMEAR CAMPAIGN’ AS DEMOCRATS CHARGE HE IS UNQUALIFIED TO LEAD PENTAGON

1. GOP fall in line

There were initial concerns that Hegseth would lose a handful of GOP senators’ support, possibly tanking his nomination, but that no longer appears to be a concern after Tuesday’s hearing. Republicans on the committee clearly and loudly supported his nomination during the hearing.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), one of two female veteran senators on the committee and a sexual assault survivor, was one Republican in particular to watch, but she backed Hegseth during the hearing. She and Hegseth met several times privately ahead of the hearing.

Hegseth could only lose three Republicans to still gain enough votes to get confirmed, but that does not look like it will be a concern.

“I do appreciate you sitting down and allowing me the opportunity to question you thoroughly on those issues that are of great importance to me,” Ernst said. “One is the DOD and making sure that we have a clean audit. The second is women in combat, and we’ll talk a little bit more about that in a moment. And the third was maintaining high standards and making sure that we are combating sexual assault in the military.”

She concluded her time by asking Hegseth if he would commit to appointing a “senior level official dedicated to sexual assault prevention and response,” to which he said he would.

2. Women in combat

Hegseth’s previous comments about not supporting women in combat roles in the military were a major source of contention during his hearing.

“I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn’t made us more effective. Hasn’t made us more lethal. Has made fighting more complicated,” he said on a podcast hosted by Shawn Ryan on Nov. 7, days before Trump nominated him as the next secretary of defense.

Upon questioning by senators, Hegseth explained, “My critiques, senator, recently and in the past and from personal experience, have been instances where I’ve seen standards lowered,” adding, “Yes, women will have access to ground combat roles given the standards remain high and we’ll have a review to ensure the standards have not been eroded.”

Women make up approximately 18% of the armed forces, totaling nearly 400,000 service members.

Several Democrats questioned him about the subject, including a heated moment with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who told the nominee, “You will have to change the way you see women to do this job well, and I don’t know if you are capable of that.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) also questioned Hegseth’s change of opinion on women in combat in the month since he was announced as Trump’s pick.

“That’s a very, very big about-face in a very short amount of time,” Warren said, accusing the nominee of changing his perspective in an effort to secure the nomination.

“I’ve heard deathbed conversions, but this is the first time I’ve seen a nomination conversion,” Warren added.

3. Qualifications for the job

The Pentagon’s budget is roughly $850 billion annually, and the military is comprised of roughly 3 million people.

Prior to joining Fox News, Hegseth served as the head of two veteran advocacy groups, and there have been allegations of financial mismanagement under his leadership, which he denied. Both groups, by his own admission, are much smaller entities in terms of budget and personnel.

“Nothing remotely near the size of the Defense Department, I would acknowledge that,” he said

Democrats accused him of being unqualified to lead one of the largest, if not the largest, bureaucracies in the country.

Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) said experience is not “actually not remotely near even a medium-sized company in America, let alone a big company in America, especially a major corporation. And you’re basically, we’re hiring you to be the CEO of one of the most complex, largest organizations in the world.”

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a combat veteran who lost both legs during the war in Iraq, accused Hegseth of not being qualified for the role. She asked him to “name the importance of at least one of the nations” in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations alliance and how many nations are in it. He answered by naming three U.S. allies in the Pacific region, South Korea, Japan, and Australia, none of which are actually a part of the alliance.

“None of those three countries that you mentioned are in ASEAN,” she said. “I suggest you do a little homework before you prepare for these types of negotiations.”

4. Past relationships and sexual assault allegations

Hegseth was accused of sexual assault in 2017, an allegation that was investigated and did not result in charges. He agreed to a settlement with the unidentified woman, whom he admitted he had a consensual relationship with.

“I was falsely accused in October of 2017. It was fully investigated, and I was completely cleared,” he told lawmakers, repeating similar sentiments when faced with questions about the allegation.

He was married to his first wife, Meredith Schwarz, from 2004 to 2009, and their marriage ended after he admitted to multiple affairs, according to the New Yorker. He married his second wife, Samantha Deering, a year later. They have three children together, but their marriage fell apart in 2017 when he impregnated a Fox News colleague, Jennifer Rauchet. 

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) hammered Hegseth on these indiscretions, going as far as to ask him if he, in fact, “pledged to be faithful to your wife” during “each of your weddings.”

“You think you are completely cleared because you committed no crime,” Kaine said. “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 who had been born two months before, and you tell us you were completely cleared.”