HEGSETH’S HOT SEAT
Pete Hegseth will have the confirmation hearing spotlight all to himself on Tuesday. Expect Senate Democrats to wield it like a cudgel.
Donald Trump’s Defense secretary pick will need to try to convince nearly every GOP senator to back his nomination. Republicans have telegraphed that he has the votes, for now, and he’s managed to persevere through tough questions about sexual assault allegations, drinking incidents and his past comments that women in the military should not serve in combat. But Democrats haven’t given up on blocking him. They’re planning to focus not only on those issues in his confirmation hearing, according to brief interviews with senators on the Armed Services Committee, but also the former Fox News host’s lack of leadership experience. “I'm interested in hearing about how his experience has prepared him for the job of managing 3 million people and an $850 billion a year budget,” Armed Services Committee member Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who has urged his colleagues to use the hearings on Trump’s nominees as an accountability exercise, echoed the lack of experience emphasis in floor remarks on Monday. He called the Defense secretary position “arguably the most important position in the entire Cabinet.” “If confirmed, Mr. Hegseth will oversee a workforce of three million people and handle issues of life and death on a regular basis,” Schumer said. Of course, still expect Senate Democrats to push him on the other allegations. Hegseth has said he was cleared of the sexual misconduct accusations, said he would swear off drinking if he is confirmed and walked back his comments on women in the military. “I want to hear him explain how someone who has spent 12 years declaring that women have no role in active duty military in combat can reasonably be trusted to run America’s military,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told reporters on Monday. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), an Army veteran who lost both of her legs in combat in Iraq, also serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Hegseth is the only nomination on the schedule for tomorrow, after hearings for incoming VA Secretary nominee Doug Collins and Interior Secretary nominee Doug Burgum were postponed. Hegseth, one of Trump’s more controversial picks, could set the tone for Trump’s other nominees. Republicans will feel pressure to hold the line. "Hegseth is one of the nominees that raises a lot of concerns relating to his ability to serve, his experience, his fitness,” said Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), another Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. “But he's one of a number of Trump nominees that raises those concerns.” — Mia McCarthy, with assists from Joe Gould, Connor O’Brien, and Hailey Fuchs GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, Jan. 13, where we’re excited to finally have a schedule for inauguration weekend.
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