Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth’s personal life and lack of experience were put on trial during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, as Democrats pressed him relentlessly on accusations of sexual assault, alcohol abuse, and claims that he had mismanaged funds for two veterans non-profits. Republicans, in turn, criticized their fellow senators for talking about personalities instead of the issues. 

Mr. Hegseth’s confirmation hearing started off with harsh criticism from the panel’s top Democrat, Senator Reed, who said Mr. Hegseth lacks “the character, the composure, and the competence to hold the position of secretary of defense.” Mr. Reed also raised concerns about Mr. Hegseth’s past support for a Navy SEAL who had been convicted of war crimes by a military court, and who later received a pardon from President Trump following a lobbying campaign by Mr. Hegseth. 

Many Democrats focused on Mr. Hegseth’s comments from November when he said that he thought women should be barred from serving in combat roles, though he later walked back those comments following a conversation in December with Senator Ernst, who is one of the few Republican senators who has not yet publicly endorsed his nomination to lead the Pentagon. 

“You said in your statement you don’t want politics in the DoD. Everything you’ve said in these public statements is politics,” Senator Gillibrand said in the hearing. “‘I don’t want women. I don’t want moms.’ What’s wrong with a mom, by the way? … I mean, you’re basically saying women after they have children can’t ever serve in the military in a combat role.”

When it was Ms. Ernst’s turn to question the nominee, she asked him about his comments about female military members, and he assured her that he would support keeping women in such roles so long as they meet the requirements. 

“We have had very frank conversations,” Ms. Ernst said at the opening of her question period. She met with Mr. Hegseth in her office in December, and said after their lengthy meeting that she would “support” Mr. Hegseth through the advise-and-consent process, though declined to say if she would give him her vote for confirmation. 

“I don’t keep anything hidden. [I] pull no punches,” the Iowa senator said. 

Senator Kaine pointed to the allegations of sexual assault, Mr. Hegseth’s past affairs, and his out-of-wedlock children as examples of poor judgment during the hearing. Mr. Hegseth simply shot back that the complaints were all made anonymously, though Mr. Kaine pointed to other examples. 

“You claim that this is all anonymous. We have seen records with names attached to all of these, including your own mother,” Mr. Kaine said, referencing an email Mr. Hegseth’s mother had written to him several years ago where she called her son “an abuser of women.”

“So, don’t make this into some anonymous press thing,” the Virginia senator said. 

Senator Kelly used his time to ask Mr. Hegseth about alleged instances of drunkenness that were made by former colleagues at the two veterans non-profits that he led, Mr. Hegseth called every one of the allegations “anonymous smears,” but only explicitly denied one accusation that he had taken younger female staffers to a strip club. 

Trump’s close ally in the chamber, Senator Mullin, offered a virulent defense of Mr. Hegseth when it was his turn to speak — so forceful that supporters of Mr. Hegseth who were in the committee room started to applaud. 

Senator Kaine had asked about Mr. Hegseth’s alleged drinking problem and his admitted past infidelities, leading Mr. Mullin to explode at his colleagues. He went so far as to claim that some senators will vote while drunk. 

“The senator from Virginia starts bringing up the fact that, what if you showed up drunk to your job?” Mr. Mullin said. “How many senators have shown up drunk to vote at night? Have any of you asked them to step down and resign from their job?” he added, gesturing to his Democratic colleagues. 

“Don’t tell me you haven’t seen it because I know you have,” Mr. Mullin said, wagging his finger. 

On policy issues, Mr. Hegseth said his top priorities as secretary of defense would be to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at the Pentagon, recruit military members who were forced out after President Biden’s vaccine mandate, and ensure the lethality of the American military. He also said one of his most important goals is to pivot American foreign policy and defense concerns to the Indo-Pacific region from the Middle East, where he served several combat tours as an officer. 

One of Mr. Hegseth’s biggest fumbles of the day was when he was asked by Senator Duckworth — a double amputee Army helicopter pilot — about the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, which is economic union of countries like Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore, and Laos. 

“Can you name the importance of at least one of the nations in ASEAN, and what type of agreement we have with at least one of those nations, and how many nations are in ASEAN?” the senator asked. 

“I couldn’t tell you the exact amount of nations in that, but I know we have allies in South Korea, in Japan, and in AUKUS with Australia,” Mr. Hegseth responded. 

“None of those countries are in ASEAN,” Ms. Duckworth shot back.

Toward the beginning of the hearing, a protester stood up and screamed at Mr. Hegseth, saying he was a “Christian Zionist,” which led Senator Cotton to question the nominee’s commitment to Israel. 

“Do you consider yourself a Christian Zionist?” Mr. Cotton asked. 

“I’m a Christian and I robustly support the state of Israel and its existential defense,” Mr. Hegseth responded. “I support Israel destroying and killing every last member of Hamas.”