Pete Hegseth Grilled About Cheating on His Ex-Wives, Sexual Assault Allegations and His Drinking Habits at Senate Confirmation Hearing

Pete Hegseth faced a flurry of rapid-fire questions about his personal life at his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, January 14.

President-elect Donald Trump nominated Hegseth as defense secretary for his upcoming cabinet in November 2024. However, the former Fox News personality's reported history of infidelity, rumors of drinking on the job and a sexual assault allegation from 2017 have sparked concerns among critics over the past two months.

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine asked Hegseth if the alleged sexual assault took place when he was "still married" to his second wife and just after he'd "fathered a child by a woman who would later become" his third wife.

Hegseth responded that he'd been "falsely charged" and "completely cleared" after an investigation, but Kaine pushed him to clarify his answer.

"So you think you are completely cleared because you committed no crime? That’s your definition of cleared?" he asked. "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 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?"

Kaine said Hegseth had admitted to having a sexual encounter with the woman who accused him in October 2017, but he had claimed it was consensual. When he pushed for the defense secretary nominee to "explain himself," Hegseth repeated they were "false charges."

At another point in the hearing, Senator Mazie Hirono also took issue with Hegseth's wording, saying: "I don’t think 'completely cleared' is accurate. But the fact is that your own lawyer said that you entered into an NDA and paid a person who accused you of raping her a sum of money to make sure that she did not file a complaint."

Hirono also grilled the 44-year-old on the rumors that he had an alcohol problem and was allegedly drinking on the job while working at Fox News.

"Moving on, as secretary, you will be in charge of maintaining good order and discipline by enforcing the Uniform Code of Military Justice, UCMJ," she said. "I have read multiple reports of your regularly being drunk at work, including by people who worked with you at Fox News. Do you know that being drunk at work is prohibited for service members under the UCMJ?"

Hegseth interrupted Hirono as he argued those were "false, anonymous reports."

She then brought up Hegseth's promise that he "stopped drinking and won't drink if confirmed." However, when she pressed him on if he would resign if he was caught drinking, Hegseth attempted to dodge the question twice by saying he "made this commitment on behalf of the men and women that I’m serving."

"I’m not hearing an answer to my question, so I’m going to move on," Hirono said. "While you have made that commitment, you will not commit to resigning if you drink on the job."