Confirmation hearings for Trump nominees commence on Capitol Hill
Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth faces a Senate hearing Tuesday while hearings slated for other nominees have been postponed.
Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth faces a Senate hearing Tuesday while hearings slated for other nominees have been postponed.
Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth faces a Senate hearing Tuesday while hearings slated for other nominees have been postponed.
President-elect Donald Trump’s defense secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth, will answer questions before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.
Hegseth's nomination has faced controversy, including a sexual assault allegation that he denies and claims that he abuses alcohol.
The former Fox TV host and Army National Guard combat veteran spent weeks meeting with senators to address the allegations against him and his lack of qualifications for the job.
Hegseth has voiced major changes for the department he could lead, including a Pentagon "clean house" and removal of "woke" policies in the military. He has also questioned the role of women in major combat roles.
If confirmed as the next defense secretary, Hegseth's authority over the U.S. military would be second only to Trump's.
Meanwhile, delayed reports on the backgrounds of two Cabinet secretaries are postponing their confirmation hearings.
Instead, Interior Secretary nominee Doug Burgum will testify on Thursday, and Veterans Affairs Secretary nominee Doug Collins will sit next Tuesday.
Senate Democrats complained they hadn't received official reports about the two candidates and couldn't hold a proper hearing without them. Republicans blamed the Office of Government Ethics and the FBI for the delays.
For nearly a month after the election, the Trump transition team refused to sign agreements that allowed the government to conduct background checks on the president-elect's nominees.