Hegseth’s views on women in combat, infidelity and more — in his own words
WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — Piet Hegseth will try to convince members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that he should the next Minister of Defenseafter weeks of meetings with lawmakers who bombarded him with questions about his character and views on a range of military issues.
As the author of several books and a former Fox News Channel host, Hegseth has been forced to defend himself against a long series of his own public comments, including in his most recent book, “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Hold us free.”
His differing views could provide some insight into how he might approach the top Pentagon job if confirmed. Sometimes he says he has been misinterpreted, but other times he has tried to soften his previously expressed views on controversial topics.
Here it is a look at Hegseth in his own words:
Hegseth, 44, an Army veteran who rose to the rank of major and served in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he believes standards have deteriorated and efforts to expand standards diversity, equality and inclusivity have driven white men away.
He complains in his latest book that “woke” generals and the leaders of elite service academies have left the military dangerously weak and “effeminate” by promoting DEI. He says, “The next commander in chief will have to clean house.”
“It turned out that all those recruitment messages about diversity were making certain kids — white kids — feel like they weren’t wanted,” he said in his book.
If confirmed, he has said there will be no more “social justice and politically correct approaches to the way we fight and wage wars.” Instead, he said, “This is about lethality, meritocracy and preparedness.”
And he has vowed to fire generals involved in “woke” programs.
Hegseth’s opposition – as set out in his book and interviews – was simple and direct before his appointment on November 12. But given questions from Congress, he appears to have changed his position.
“I’m just saying honestly that we shouldn’t have women in combat roles. It hasn’t made us more effective. Didn’t make us deadlier. Made fighting more complicated,” he said on a Shawn Ryan podcast on November 7.
Women have a place in the military, he said, but not in special operations, artillery, infantry and armor units.
In his book, he says that women performed well in dangerous support roles during the war, but “women in the infantry – women who deliberately fight in battle – is a different story.” He adds, “women cannot physically meet the same standards as men.”
He said, “Fathers force us to take risks. Moms put the training wheels on our bikes. We need mothers. But not in the army, especially not in combat units.’
His views angered some members of Congress.
Asked about the issue on the “Megyn Kelly Show” in early December, Hegseth said he is only interested in ensuring military standards are maintained. Women serve in combat, he said, and “if we have the right standard and women meet that standard, Roger. Let’s go.”
Hegseth faced accusations that he sexually abused a woman he met at a conference in California in 2017. He has denied it and said it was consensual. No charges have been filed.
He has acknowledged pay a settlement to his accuser, claiming he did this to avoid a baseless lawsuit. “The case was fully investigated and I was fully exonerated,” he said.
He has also acknowledged several instances of infidelity, including the incident in California, which happened while he was going through a divorce with his second wife after having a child with the woman who is now his current wife, Jennifer Rauchet.
He told Kelly that going to a hotel room with someone who wasn’t his wife “is not okay” and that he paid the settlement “to protect my wife.” I did it to protect my family. I did it to protect my job.”
He said it was fair to call him a “serial cheater,” but he “was truly changed by Jen and my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” and is a different man now.
Senators have also expressed concern about reports of excessive drinking.
Hegseth has denied having a drinking problem and said publicly that he told lawmakers he would not drink as defense secretary.
“I’m not going to have a drink at all,” he said, likening it to following the Pentagon’s General Order No. 1, which bans troops from drinking while deployed.
He said that soldiers who come home from war often ‘have a beer’. But emphasized in the Kelly interview that: “I’ve never had a drinking problem.”
Hegseth has said the Pentagon overreacted in taking steps to crack down on extremism and took charge of the military’s efforts to remove people it deemed white supremacists and violent extremists.
He wrote that the issue is “fake” and characterized it as “promoting the lie of racism in the military.” He said efforts to root out extremism “have driven ordinary patriots out of their formations.”
Hegseth was pulled from the Washington National Guard during President Joe Biden’s inauguration flagged as a possible “Insider Threat” by a fellow service member because of a tattoo.
Hegseth has said that this was due to a Christian cross tattoo on his chest. But the fellow Guard member, who was part of a counterterrorism team at the time, shared this with The Associated Press an email he sent to the unit’s leadership with another tattoo on Hegseth’s bicep associated with white supremacist groups.
Shortly after President-elect Trump announced his nomination, Hegseth posted on I’ve been on patrol for days. Pulled a trigger. I heard bullets whizzing by. Air support called in. Led medevacs. Dodged IEDs.”
He said Trump told him, “I picked you because you are the man who is going to put the warfighters first. We haven’t had that. We need a man who has kicked down doors and understands the consequences of war.”
Trump’s first Secretary of Defense, retired Marine General Jim Mattis, served in combat in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and was awarded a Bronze Star with a V for valor for his service in one of the lead assault units that invaded Kuwait during the first Gulf War.
Current Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, a retired four-star Army general, also commanded troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and received a Silver Star, the nation’s third-highest award for valor, for leading troops into Iraq during the 2003 invasion.
“I’ve led troops into combat in some pretty important and difficult situations,” Austin told The Associated Press. “Even if you call yourself a ‘door kicker’ or whatever you want to call it, I led large, complex organizations before I got into this job, and I did that successfully.”
“So I think you have to have a perspective on what’s happening on the ground, but you also have to understand how things fit in terms of the bigger picture,” he said.
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Associated Press writer Tara Copp contributed to this report.