This news article details the key takeaways from Pete Hegseth's confirmation hearing for Defense Secretary, including his reception from Republicans, his handling of questions about women in combat, and the broader trend of declining bipartisanship in Cabinet confirmation votes.
Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail. In today’s edition, Sahil Kapur and Garrett Haake offer their takeaways after covering Pete Hegseth 's confirmation hearing to be defense secretary . Plus, Steve Kornacki digs into the data to explain why bipartisan votes for presidents’ Cabinet nominees are becoming less common.
Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here.Pete Hegseth received a friendly reception from Senate Republicans at his hearing Tuesday before the Armed Services Committee, who indicated their support for Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s embattled nominee for defense secretary. Hegseth entered the hearing facing a cloud of controversies surrounding his nomination. However, after being questioned for over four hours, Republicans emerged feeling optimistic that Hegseth, a former Fox News host and Army combat veteran, would be confirmed to lead the Pentagon. “He comported himself extremely well and made a strong argument for why he ought to be the next secretary of defense,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., adding he will “work quickly” to get Hegseth confirmed.Here are a few takeaways from the hearing. Joni Ernst doesn’t rock the boat: As a combat veteran and sexual assault survivor, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, has long been seen as a crucial factor in Hegseth’s path to 50 votes, as she has previously expressed concerns about him. On Tuesday, she did little to challenge him. She began by noting their “very productive” and “very frank” conversations and submitted a letter from a Hegseth supporter into the record. She asked whether women should have “the opportunity to serve in combat roles,” to which Hegseth replied in the affirmative, “exactly the way you caveated it.” She asked whether he would appoint a senior official dedicated to sexual assault prevention, to which he noted that he had already promised that to her: “As we have discussed, yes, I will,” he said. Ernst, who faces re-election in 2026, has come under heavy pressure from Trump allies to get behind Hegseth. Lately, she hasn’t shown much of an appetite to buck Trump.Culture war rhetoric dominates: Throughout the hearing, Hegseth repeatedly showered praise on Trump and criticized President Joe Biden’s administration, employing the language of the MAGA movement. He denounced “left-wing woke universities” and attacked the “left-wing media in America,” calling himself the victim of a “smear campaign.” Democrats press about women in combat: Of all the controversies Hegseth faces, Democrats seemed most eager to challenge his past remarks that women shouldn’t serve in combat roles. “You can’t seem to grasp that there is no U.S. military as we know it without the incredible women that we serve, women who earn their place in their units,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who lost her legs serving in combat after her helicopter was shot down in Iraq. “You have not earned your place as secretary of defense.” Hegseth has softened his opposition to women serving in the military. He said his views, “recently and in the past, and from personal experience,” have been based on “instances where I’ve seen standards lowered.”Haake’s Take: Democratic senators largely struggled to elevate Hegseth’s personal liabilities into the kind of wound that can end a Cabinet bid. More than two hours into the hearing, Virginia’s Tim Kaine, who has a reputation as a genial guy, was the only lawmaker to persistently pursue answers from Hegseth about a 2017 sexual assault allegation and admitted adultery undergirding it in a manner than might unnerve fence-sitting GOP senators. Asides into tax returns related to previous roles or Hegseth’s understanding of the global issues the next SecDef will face lacked depth. — Garrett HaakeBipartisanship is on the decline in Cabinet confirmation votes By Steve Kornacki It used to be a question of whether an incoming president’s Cabinet picks would face any opposition in the Senate. Now, as Donald Trump’s nominees begin their confirmation hearings, it’s a matter of how much opposition they will face. Call it a product of the partisan polarization that had been rising since 2000 and accelerated with Trump’s 2016 victory. Once largely deferential to a new president’s selections, senators from the opposition party have far more incentives to try to thwart them — or at least to make a show of it. Unanimous or near-unanimous votes on Cabinet nominees remained common through Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009, when nine of his choices sailed through the Senate with no opposition at all (and five more did so with only token Republican opposition)
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