Reactions poured in on social media and elsewhere as Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth was grilled by Democrats on Capitol Hill following a tense confirmation hearing that often got personal.

‘Pete Hegseth is crushing it,’ Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer posted on X. ‘It is refreshing to hear someone relentlessly focus on warriors and lethality, without playing Washington’s word-salad game of forcing nominees to talk like social workers who run government agencies.’

‘The Senate likes to claim that hearings as serious, deliberative acts of policy making and statesmanship, but many Senate Armed Service Committee Democrats’ behavior during Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing on Tuesday revealed the sad truth that most Senate hearings, confirmation or not, are kabuki theater,’ Bradley Devlin, The Daily Signal politics editor, told Fox News Digital. 

Ned Ryun, President of ‘American Majority’, told Fox News Digital that Hegseth handled himself ‘magnificently.’ 

‘He communicated a clear vision for a new day at the Pentagon where the Department of Defense leaves behind the weakness of woke and focuses on deterrence through strength,’ Ryun said. ‘And when Democrats attempted to use the anonymously sourced attacks to undermine Pete, he handled those with grace. It really was a fantastic hearing for him and leaves little doubt in my mind that he’ll easily be confirmed.’

‘They didn’t lay a glove on Hegseth today,’ CNN political commentator Scott Jennings posted on X. ‘Why do Dems send their dumbest members to this important committee?’

‘This hearing has made two things abundantly clear: 1. The left remains fully committed to the disastrous, woke, weak, and failed policies that were soundly rejected in November,’ the account belonging to former HUD Secretary Ben Carson and his wife Candy posted on X. ‘It’s actually sad. 2. Pete Hegseth is going to be a fantastic Secretary of Defense. This is how it’s done.’

‘While Democratic senators distracted with hearsay allegations and character assassinations, Pete Hegseth stayed the course on what the military is about: lethality,’ Caroline Downey, National Review Staff Writer and visiting fellow with Independent Women’s Forum, told Fox News Digital. 

‘As the daughter of a West Point graduate and Army Captain who served in Vietnam, I can say that those prime objectives have fallen subservient to progressive political goals,’ she continued. ‘The military academies have surrendered to woke ideology, jeopardizing their purpose which is to form upstanding leaders of intellectual, mental, and physical fortitude that can protect and defend the United States. Despite Democratic lawmakers accusing him of forsaking veterans, Hegseth proved that he has always been dedicated to their welfare not just in words but in deeds.’

Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said after the hearing that it is important that Hegseth is confirmed ‘immediately’ and allowed to start as soon as possible.

‘To me, it’s important he gets on the job immediately,’ Banks told reporters.

‘We can’t vote on confirming him out of the committee until President Trump is President Trump again. So January 20th, the committee will meet and we’ll pass him out of the committee… and hopefully he immediately goes to a vote on the floor because we can’t wait,’ he continued.

Following the hearing, several Senate Democrats expressed a continued unwillingness to support Hegseth and claimed he wasn’t qualified.

Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips contributed to this report

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth, faced a Senate grilling on Tuesday as lawmakers determine whether they will vote in support of the nominee. 

Hegseth faced intense questioning from Democrats in his Armed Services Committee hearing, including his previous comments related to women serving in military combat roles, and was also interrupted by protesters who disturbed the hearing at some points. 

Trump nominated Hegseth in November, just days after his decisive election win over Vice President Harris, lauding him ‘as a Warrior for the Troops, and for the Country.’

After Hegseth wrapped up his hours-long hearing, Fox News Digital compiled the top five moments. 

Hegseth’s emotional opening remarks

Hegseth became emotional during his opening remarks on Tuesday morning while thanking his wife and other family members for supporting him through the nomination process. 

‘Thank you to my incredible wife, Jennifer, who has changed my life and been with me throughout this entire process. I love you, sweetheart, and I thank God for you,’ he said, beginning to choke up. 

‘And as Jenny and I pray together every morning, all glory, regardless of the outcome, belongs to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,’ he said. ‘His grace and mercy abounds each day. May His will be done.’

Hegseth, a former Fox News host, married Jennifer in 2013, with the couple sharing a blended family of seven children. 

‘Thank you to my father, Brian and Mother Penny, as well as our entire family, including our seven wonderful kids: Gunner, Jackson, Peter Boone, Kensington, Luke, Rex … Gwendolyn. Their future safety and security is in all of our hands,’ he said.

Sen. Hirono claims Hegseth would lead a military invasion of Greenland if confirmed

Democrat Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono was slammed on social media Tuesday during the hearing for asking Hegseth if he would lead a military invasion of Greenland if confirmed as the secretary of defense. 

‘[The] president-elect has attacked our allies in recent weeks, refusing to rule out using military force to take over Greenland and the Panama Canal and threatening to take, to make Canada the 51st state. Would you carry out an order from President Trump to seize Greenland, a territory of our NATO ally Denmark, by force? Or would you comply with an order to take over the Panama Canal?’ Hirono asked on Tuesday. 

Trump has said in recent weeks that he hopes to purchase Greenland from Denmark, referred to Canada as the U.S.’s ’51st state’ and outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as Canada’s ‘governor,’ and he has also vowed to ‘demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America in full, quickly and without question.’

Hegseth brushed off Hirono’s question during the hearing, saying, ‘Trump never strategically tips his hand.’

‘I would never publicly state one way or another to direct the orders of the president,’ Hegseth responded.

Viewers of the exchange erupted on social media after Hirono’s question, including labeling her the ‘least intelligent Member of Congress’ and others calling the grilling a ‘clown show.’

‘Hirono was playing judge, jury, and executioner based on lies and stupidity,’ Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., wrote in a post on X.

Hearing erupts into protests

Hegseth’s opening remarks during the hearing were interrupted by a handful of protesters as they shouted at the nominee about the war in Israel and called him a ‘Christian Zionist’ and a ‘misogynist.’

‘Veterans are committing suicide and are homeless, but we send money to bomb children in Gaza,’ one female protester in fatigues shouts as she’s escorted from the hearing, Fox News Digital video shows. 

At least three protesters were seen being hauled out of the hearing in zip ties or with their hands behind their backs. 

‘You are a misogynist,’ one protester shouts at Hegseth. 

‘Thank you for figuratively and literally having my back,’ Hegseth said after he was interrupted, returning to his opening statement. ‘I pledge to do the same for all of you.’

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., asked Hegseth about the protesters during his hearing, including the war in Israel that has been ongoing since October 2023. 

‘Another protester, and I think this one was a member of Code Pink, which, by the way, is a Chinese communist front group these days, said that you support Israel’s war in Gaza. I support Israel’s existential war in Gaza. I assume, like me and President Trump, you support that war as well,’ Cotton said.

‘I support Israel destroying and killing every last member of Hamas,’ Hegseth responded. 

‘And the third protester said something about 20 years of genocide. I assume that’s our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Do you think our troops are committing genocide in Iraq and Afghanistan?’ Cotton continued. 

‘Senator, I do not. I think … our troops, as you know, as so many in this committee know, did the best they could with what they had. … And tragically, the outcome we saw in Afghanistan under the Biden administration put a stain on that, but it doesn’t put a stain on what those men and women did in uniform, as you know full well, Senator,’ Hegseth responded. 

Hegseth repeatedly grilled on support of women in combat roles

The nominee was repeatedly grilled by senators regarding his previous comments on women serving in combat roles, including by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.

‘You say we need moms, but not in the military, especially in combat units. So specific to Sen. Cotton’s question, because Sen. Cotton was giving you layups to differentiate between different types of combat, specifically as secretary, would you take any action to reinstitute the combat arms exclusion for female service members, knowing full well you have hundreds of women doing that job right now?’ Gillibrand asked. 

Her question referred to Hegseth’s 2024 book, which states, ‘Dads push us to take risks. Moms put the training wheels on our bikes. We need moms. But not in the military, especially not in combat units.’

Hegseth pushed back that his argument related to women serving in the military focuses on military standards not eroding. 

‘Senator, I appreciate your comments. And I would point out I’ve never disparaged women serving in the military. I respect every single female service member that has put on the uniform, past and present. My critiques, senator, recently and in the past, and from personal experience, have been instances where I’ve seen standards lowered,’ he responded. 

Ernst, a veteran and Republican who initially did not publicly support Hegseth’s nomination, also questioned the nominee’s views on women in the military, saying he had a platform to make his opinions ‘very clear.’ 

‘I want to know, again, let’s make it very clear for everyone here today, as secretary of defense, will you support women continuing to have the opportunity to serve in combat roles?’ Ernst asked. 

Hegseth again redirected the conversation back to his concerns over ensuring military standards remain high. 

‘Senator, first of all, thank you for your service. As we discussed extensively as well, and my answer is yes, exactly the way that you caveated it. Yes, women will have access to ground combat roles, combat roles given the standards remain high, and we’ll have a review to ensure the standards have not been eroded,’ Hegseth responded. 

Ernst also pressed Hegseth on what efforts he would take to combat sexual assault within the ranks, noting it as one of her top three concerns surrounding the military.

‘A priority of mine has been combating sexual assault in the military and making sure that all of our service members are treated with dignity and respect. This has been so important,’ Ernst said. ‘Sen. Gillibrand and I have worked on this, and we were able to get changes made to the uniform code of military justice to make sure that we have improvements and on how we address the tragic and life-altering issues of rape, sexual assault. It will demand time and attention from the Pentagon under your watch, if you are confirmed.’

‘So, as secretary of defense, will you appoint a senior level official dedicated to sexual assault prevention and response?’ she asked.

Hegseth said that, as they had previously discussed, he would appoint an official to such a role.

Dem Sen. Kaine grills SecDef nominee over infidelity in front of young daughter 

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., hit Hegseth with a handful of personal questions, including the timing of his extramarital affairs, as Hegseth’s 7-year-old daughter sat feet away during the hearing. 

‘I want to return to the incident that you referenced a minute ago that occurred in Monterey, California, in October 2017. At that time, you were still married to your second wife, correct?’ Kaine asked, referring to a 2017 accusation of sexual assault against Hegseth. The nominee was investigated and cleared of wrongdoing.

‘I believe so,’ Hegseth responded.

‘And you had just fathered a child by a woman who would later become your third wife,’ Kaine pressed. Hegseth has been married three times. 

‘Senator, I was falsely charged, and I [was] fully investigated and completely cleared,’ Hegseth said. 

Kaine shot back, ‘So you think you are completely cleared because you committed no crime? That’s your definition of cleared?’

‘You had just fathered a child two months before by a woman that was not your wife,’ he continued before citing that Hegseth’s daughter was in the audience. ‘I am shocked that you would stand here and say you are completely cleared. Can you so casually cheat on a second wife and cheat on the mother of a child who had been born two months before?’

‘Senator, her child’s name is Gwendolyn Hope Hegseth, and she’s a child of God,’ Hegseth responded.

‘She’s 7 years old, and I am glad she’s here,’ he added.

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller, Aubrie Spady and Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.

Families who lost loved ones during the disastrous 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan are throwing their support behind Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth.

Hegseth, who President-elect Trump tapped to head the Defense Department, underwent questioning from the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday, where he faced over four hours of questioning from Republican and Democratic lawmakers.

The Abbey Gate Coalition, a group of the parents and families of those who tragically lost their lives in a terrorist attack after President Biden withdrew troops from Afghanistan, penned a letter to senators on Tuesday urging them to confirm Trump’s defense nominee and doubling down on their criticism of the current administration’s handling of the deadly event.

‘We have been sitting by watching the current administration do nothing but attempt to take victory laps and thumb their noses at the sacrifice that our children made on that fateful day,’ the letter reads. ‘They have had no interest in giving us any of those answers that we seek, and have attempted to put Afghanistan in the rear view mirror as was further evidenced yesterday in President Biden’s final address on his foreign affairs and his supposed successes.’

The coalition has been critical of the Biden administration since the withdrawal, writing in the letter that they have been ‘stonewalled’ by his administration.

‘We have been stonewalled at every turn and only given ‘bread-crumbs’ to attempt to make us just go away! We feel that there has been a complete coverup at the department of Defense with the current Secretary of Defense leading the way,’ the coalition wrote.

The families said the process for accountability over Afghanistan begins with the confirmation of Hegseth to lead the Defense Department.

‘We ask that you please hear our words and feel the pain that we do, knowing that it was avoidable in respect to what happened to our children,’ the letter reads.

The Biden administration’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan led to the deaths of 13 U.S. service members defending the Kabul airport during the operation, while hundreds of Americans and tens of thousands of Afghan allies were left in the country under Taliban rule. Conservative critics, such as Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said the withdrawal paved the way for adversaries such as Russia to invade Ukraine. 

The Taliban claimed control of Afghanistan following the withdrawal. 

The families who lost loved ones during the botched withdrawal have previously and repeatedly slammed Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris over their deaths, including launching a scathing defense attack against Harris – when she was running for president – after the anniversary of the withdrawal last year. Parents and other loved ones claimed that the ‘administration killed my son’ and that they ‘have not seen any support from you or your administration.’

Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly remembered the service members who died, and invited their families to the Republican convention in Milwaukee in July. 

‘Look at our faces. Look at our pain, and our heartbreak. And look at our rage. [The Afghanistan withdrawal] was not an extraordinary success,’ said Cheryl Juels, the aunt of Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee, at the RNC. ‘Joe Biden owes the men and women who served in Afghanistan a debt of gratitude, and an apology.’

​​’While Joe Biden has refused to recognize their sacrifice, Donald Trump spent six hours in Bedminster with us,’ said the mother-in-law of Nicole Gee at the RNC. ‘He allowed us to grieve, he allowed us to remember our heroes. Donald Trump knew all of our children’s names, he knew their stories, and he spoke to us in a way that made us feel understood, like he knew our kids.’

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., invoked secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth’s daughter during a heated hearing, prompting pushback from conservatives on social media who argued that the comments crossed a line. 

So you think you are completely cleared because you committed no crime?’ the former vice presidential candidate said to Hegseth during his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday. 

‘That’s your definition of cleared. You had just fathered a child two months before by a woman that was not your wife. I am shocked that you would stand here and say you’re completely cleared. Can you so casually cheat on a second wife and cheat on the mother of a child who had been born two months before? And you tell us you are completely cleared? How is that completely cleared?’

Kaine was commenting on Hegseth’s behavior in earlier marriages, including an October 2017 incident in Monterey, California, in which Hegseth was accused of sexual assault. Hegseth, a former Fox News host, was later cleared of wrongdoing following an investigation, and has since described the incident as consensual. ‘I was fully investigated and completely cleared,’ he said of the allegation.

‘Senator, her child’s name is Gwendolyn Hope Hegseth, and she’s a child of God,’ Hegseth responded. ‘She’s 7 years old, and I am glad she’s here.’

And you cheated on the mother of that child,’ Kaine responded. ‘Less than two months after that daughter was born, didn’t you?’

Hegseth told Kaine those were ‘false charges’ and reiterated that he was ‘completely cleared’ and ‘grateful’ to the marriage he has to the ‘amazing woman’ behind him.

Kaine persisted, ‘You’ve admitted that you had sex at that hotel in October 2017. You said it was consensual. Isn’t that correct?’

The two continued to go back and forth on the veracity of the claims against Hegseth, with Kaine pressing the nominee on whether he honored his wedding vow. 

‘I will allow your words to speak for themselves,’ Hegseth said at one point. 

As I’ve acknowledged to everyone in this committee, I’m not a perfect person. I’m not claiming to be,’ Hegseth said before being cut off by Kaine, who went on to accuse Hegseth of withholding information about the accusation when being vetted by the Trump team. 

Kaine ultimately moved on to questioning Hegseth about his relationship with drinking and other allegations that Hegseth has dismissed as ‘false.’

Conservatives on social media, along with Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., at another point in the hearing, took issue with Kaine’s line of questioning, particularly invoking Hegseth’s daughter.

‘Senator Tim Kaine really did try to use Pete Hegseth’s 7 year old daughter against him, despicable,’ conservative commentator Drew Hernandez posted on X. 

‘IRONY ALERT: Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) tries to lecture Pete Hegseth on adultery,’ The First TV posted on X. ‘Reminder that Tim Kaine ran on the same failed presidential ticket as Hillary Clinton, legal wife of Bill Clinton.’

‘Tim Kaine has a lot to say about Pete Hegseth’s conduct during his marriage,’ Article III Project senior counsel Will Chamberlain posted on X. ‘Here’s Tim Kaine campaigning with Doug Emhoff, who – while married – impregnated his nanny and forced her to get an abortion.’

Fox News Digital reached out to Kaine’s office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report