Hegseth wants to restore honor to Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, the native North Carolinian whose name was replaced at Fort Bragg last year. | Opinion

When President Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was — to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense,” Pete Hegseth said in his confirmation

A telling moment in the supremely depressing Senate confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseth, the Fox News personality who is Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, came right at the beginning, when the former Republican senator Norm Coleman introduced him.

Pete Hegseth must be approved by the GOP-led Senate Armed Services Committee before he can go before the full Senate for confirmation.

As author of several books and a former Fox News Channel host, Hegseth has been forced to defend himself against a long record of his own public comments, including in his most recent book, “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.”

A cursory review of Hegseth’s background reveals he has little knowledge or experience of complex national security issues.

Wicker did not specify what day the vote would take place, but said it could be as late as next Thursday if Senate Democrats do not allow the chamber to speed up the confirmation process.

A Democrat senator admitted Tuesday that he would support Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's confirmation again if the vote was held today despite Austin's many controversial actions and repeatedly grilling Trump's SecDef nominee Pete Hegseth over his qualifications earlier in the day.

Democrats said Hegseth’s lack of experience, his past comments about women and Black troops and allegations of excessive drinking, and sexual misconduct, make him unfit to serve. Republicans described him as "unconventional" but an “excellent choice.

Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon endured fierce Democratic grilling over everything from his inexperience, alleged drinking and his past opposition to women in combat to emerge largely unscathed among Republicans at his confirmation hearing.

In what is expected to be the most rigorous confirmation hearing this week, Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for

Pete Hegseth vowed to foster a "warrior culture" at the Pentagon and be a "change agent." He did not address the allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking, focusing instead on his combat experience.