then Add to Home Screen.
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Defense Department, fielded questions from members of the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday morning.
Hegseth said in his opening statement that, if confirmed, he would be "laser focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness."
This would be achieved by restoring the "warrior ethos," rebuilding the military and re-establishing deterrence, he added.
Hegseth enlisted in the Army National Guard after graduating from Princeton in 2003. He served as an infantry officer with deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay.
SASC members pressed Hegseth on issues including Ukraine, women in combat, the Pentagon's financial management and his qualifications to lead one of the president's largest Cabinet agencies.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the committee's chairman, asserted that the Defense Department "is no longer prepared for great power competitions, and it is not a national defense institution ready to achieve and sustain technological supremacy across the range of operations."
He added that "may be what makes Mr. Hegseth an excellent choice to improve this unacceptable status quo that I just described."
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the SASC's ranking member, countered that Hegseth’s experience as a Fox News host and the president of Concerned Veterans of America was insufficient to be the secretary of a complex organization.
"Secretary of Defense demands a leader of unparalleled experience, wisdom and, above all else, character," Reed said. "I do not believe that you are qualified to meet the overwhelming demands of this job."
Tuesday's complete nomination hearing is available here.
If Hegseth wins positive approval from the SASC, his nomination will be placed before the full Senate for a confirmation vote.
A nomination hearing for former Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., to be the Secretary of Veterans Affairs was originally scheduled for Tuesday but has been delayed until Jan. 21 due to paperwork issues.
Collins submitted his paperwork in a timely manner, Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., the chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, said in a Monday statement announcing the original hearing's postponement. To give the Veterans' Affairs committee an opportunity to review Collins' file, Moran postponed the hearing until next week.
Other confirmation hearings this week include Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., to be secretary of State; and John L. Ratcliffe, to be CIA director.
Secretary of the Army nominee Daniel Driscoll’s hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Trump also has not announced a nominee to be secretary of the Air Force.
A Washington Post tracker for Trump's Cabinet and senior-level nominations is available here.
— By Jennifer Hickey
