Five steps taken from the Pete Hegseth case

Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, has cleared his first hurdle on the road to confirmation: a lengthy — and sometimes tense — hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

For more than four hours on Tuesday, Hegseth faced questions about his ability to manage the defense department, including its three million staff and $849bn (£695bn) budget.

And though he was impeached by Democrats over allegations of sexual abuse, infidelity and drinking on the job, he seems certain that he will be confirmed in his role after no Republicans came out against him.

This was underscored later on Tuesday when Joni Ernst, another Republican seen as a possible roadblock to his nomination, said he would support him.

Here’s a look at five key takeaways from Hegseth’s testimony.

From the beginning of his testimony, Hegseth, a military veteran, he emphasized what he called a “culture of warriors”, promising to return the defense department’s focus to America’s military power.

“Warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, values, and preparedness. That’s it. That’s my job,” he said in his opening statements.

As the hearing continued, Hegseth criticized policies that he felt harmed the military’s effectiveness and “killed,” efforts aimed at racial and gender diversity.

“This is not a time for equality,” he said, adding that he is against quotas, which he says damage morale.

In what was expected to be a bipartisan hearing, Democrats echoed Hegseth in his previous statements suggesting that women were not fit to serve in combat roles.

Questions along these lines from Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Mazie Hirono and Elizabeth Warren provided some of the most heated moments of the morning.

He mentioned Warren, the Massachusetts senator, while trying to comment on female service members from years past.

“Mr Hegseth, I quote you from the podcast: ‘Women shouldn’t fight at all’,” Warren said.

Hegseth remains calm, replying that his concern was not women in the military, but preserving “standards” in the military.

Hegseth, who at 44 would be the youngest defense secretary in decades, also answered questions about his readiness to lead the defense department, a growing agency.

The former Fox News anchor described himself as an “agent of change”, saying “it’s time to give the man with the dust in his boots a handle.”

Some Republicans view Hegseth’s lack of experience as a strength.

“I want to say that speaking from experience and not coming from the same parties that have been used by Washington forever, he is a breath of fresh air,” said Senator Eric Schmitt, Republican of Missouri.

A graduate of Princeton and Harvard universities, Hegseth was a platoon leader in Guantanamo Bay and Iraq, and was awarded the Bronze Star. Hegseth, also a former Fox News TV anchor, has military experience in Afghanistan as well.

Nevertheless, Democrats pressured Hegseth on his studies for a high military career. US media reporting found that it was Hegseth’s turn to lead two veteran non-profits groups ended up with financial problems.

Army veteran Tammy Duckworth focused on whether Hegseth ever directed an experiment.

“Senior, in both organizations I’ve run, we’ve always been completely responsible financially,” Hegseth began, before Duckworth interjected.

“Yes or no? Did you lead the audit? Don’t you know the answer?” Duckworth said.

Some experts told the BBC that they were very impressed by the way Hegseth talked about how he would handle the military’s problems in the project.

Aside from brief mentions of China and the Ukraine-Russia war, the senators did not ask Hegseth directly about current conflicts, other potential military adversaries and strategic rivals.

Those key issues were “overshadowed” by questions about Hegseth’s personality and competence, said Mara Karlin, former assistant secretary of defense for strategy, programs, and capabilities.

“What is surprising about this trial is how much the bread and butter has not been focused on what the secretary of defense is supposed to do, which is to protect the nation, and to ensure that you have soldiers who can win conflicts,” said Karlin.

A member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Tammy Duckworth, was also not happy with what Hegseth said about military strategy.

“He couldn’t answer some of the basic questions I asked him,” the Democratic senator from Illinois told the BBC.

Duckworth said Hegseth could not name a single country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – “basic questions any international affairs college student can answer”.

“What he did today convinced me that he is not qualified for this job,” he said.

The 2017 sexual assault case in Monterey, California, which came to light shortly after Trump tapped him for the Pentagon role, has come up again and again.

According to the police report, the woman, whose name has been withheld, said Hegseth took her phone and closed the door when she tried to leave her hotel room before sexually assaulting her.

Hegseth has denied wrongdoing. His lawyer admitted that Hegseth paid an undisclosed amount to keep quiet about the incident.

On Tuesday, Hegseth continued his rant, denouncing a “coordinated smear campaign” orchestrated by the left-wing media. “They want to destroy me.”

But at times in court, Hegseth responded to questions about his conduct by passionately referring to his Christian faith.

“I am not a perfect person, but redemption is true,” he said.

Senator Tim Kaine, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, found the statements to be convincingly controversial.

Speaking of allegations of sexual harassment, ogling and drinking, Kaine repeatedly questioned Hegseth during the trial to ensure that Hegseth could be a changed man and that the allegations against him were unfounded.

“If all those allegations are false, what do you mean he has changed and changed,” Kaine told the BBC.