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Senate Republicans deflect Democrats’ tough Pete Hegseth questions by making transgender people a joke

Pete Hegseth
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

UNITED STATES - JANUARY 14: Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be defense secretary, testifies during his Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing in Dirksen building on Tuesday, January 14, 2025.

Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Defense deflected most of the substantive questions he was asked.

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Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, endured sharp questioning Tuesday during his Senate confirmation hearing, withDemocrats grilling him over divisive rhetoric, allegations of misconduct, and a lack of qualifications. Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee largely rallied behind him, with Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana deflecting serious questions with a joke about gender identity.

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Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL and first-term senator who took office on January 3, asked, “How many genders are there?” Hegseth responded, “Senator, there are two genders,” drawing smirks from Republicans in the room. Sheehy followed with a quip about his surname, appearing to mock transgender identities. “I know that well,” he said. “I’m a ‘she-he,’ so I’m on board.” Supporters in the room broke out in laughter.

Sheehy continued with questions about military equipment and physical fitness, framing Hegseth as someone with firsthand knowledge of what troops experience on the battlefield.

Sen. Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat and ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, delivered a scathing critique of Hegseth’s views on diversity and inclusion. Reed cited Hegseth’s own words, including his claims that “diversity is not our strength” and “we should not have women in combat roles.”

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“When I joined the Army as a young officer in the 1970s, the U.S. military was rife with racial tension. Women were prohibited from serving in most roles, gay service members were banned, and we relied on the draft,” Reed said. “Today, the Department of Defense is fully integrated. Every race and religion is accepted. Women serve in all combat roles and leadership positions. Sexual orientation is irrelevant to the service. Our military is more diverse than it has ever been, but more importantly, it is more lethal than it has ever been. This is not a coincidence.”

Reed challenged Hegseth to reconcile his views with the military’s successes, asking, “Why do you believe such diversity is making the military weak, and how do you propose to undo that without harming recruitment, retention, and readiness?”

Hegseth told several senators that he no longer believed that women should not serve in combat roles, but rather that his concern was about lowering standards, a claim Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren called him out for, as she pointed out that for 12 years, Hegseth’s public positions have pointed to his opposition of women’s service in many military roles.

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand delivered one of the most pointed critiques, focusing on Hegseth’s remarks about women and LGBTQ+ service members, both groups he previously said should not be able to serve. She called it “silly” for Hegseth to denigrate the service of LGBTQ+ people. “Did you know that when ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was in place, we lost so many crucial personnel—over a thousand in mission-critical areas? We lost 10 percent of all our foreign language speakers because of a political policy.”

Challenging Hegseth’s claims that diversity policies amounted to “social engineering,” Gillibrand said, “If you’re a sharpshooter, you’re lethal regardless of what your gender identity is, regardless of who you love.”

Gillibrand also condemned Hegseth’s suggestion that addressing LGBTQ+ inclusion undermines the military. “You’ve said in your statements that you don’t want politics in the [Department of Defense.] Everything you’ve said in these public statements is politics,” she said.

Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Army veteran who lost her legs in combat, pushed back against Hegseth’s claims that diversity initiatives weaken the military. “You are not qualified, Mr. Hegseth,” Duckworth said. “[Our troops] deserve a leader who can lead them, not one who wants to lower the standards for himself.”

Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, grilled Hegseth on allegations of sexual assault, infidelity, and excessive drinking. Hegseth repeatedly deflected, labeling the allegations “false claims” and describing the scrutiny as a “smear campaign.” Kaine criticized Hegseth’s refusal to answer directly, asking, “You can’t tell me whether someone who has committed a sexual assault is disqualified from serving as secretary of defense?” Hegseth was not charged with a crime but has admitted to entering into a financial settlement with women who accused him of sexual assault after an encounter in 2017 he claims was consensual.

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