{"id":2390294,"date":"2025-01-14T17:26:01","date_gmt":"2025-01-14T22:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-top-5-viral-moments-from-hegseths-confirmation-hearing\/"},"modified":"2025-01-14T17:27:42","modified_gmt":"2025-01-14T22:27:42","slug":"the-top-5-viral-moments-from-hegseths-confirmation-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-top-5-viral-moments-from-hegseths-confirmation-hearing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Top 5 Viral Moments From Hegseth&#8217;s Confirmation Hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-top-5-viral-moments-from-hegseths-confirmation-hearing%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2390294&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Pete Hegseth&#8217;s\u2062 confirmation hearing before the Senate to\u2062 lead\u200c the Department of defense brought a mix\u200b of personal \u2063and policy-focused inquiries. While most Democrats, particularly Senator tim Kaine, concentrated on Hegseth&#8217;s personal life and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-york-times-thought-police-ask-should-classic-rock-songs-be-toppled-like-confederate-statues\/\" title=\"New York Times Thought Police Ask: Should Classic Rock Songs Be Toppled Like Confederate Statues?\">past allegations<\/a> of infidelity,\u2064 Republicans questioned his plans to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-gives-national-security-grants-to-think-tank-backed-by-ccp-front-group\/\" title=\"Biden Admin Gives National Security Grants to Think Tank Backed by CCP Front Group\">enhance national security<\/a>. Kaine notably \u200dpressured Hegseth regarding a 2017 affair while he was married, suggesting he\u2064 lacked accountability. Despite previous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/poll-one-in-six-biden-voters-would-have-changed-their-vote-if-they-had-known-about-scandals-suppressed-by-media\/\" title=\"Poll: One In Six Biden Voters Would Have Changed Their Vote If They Had Known About Scandals Suppressed By Media\">sexual assault<\/a> allegations against him, which did\u2063 not result in \u200bcharges, Hegseth maintained he was fully cleared.In response, Senator Markwayne mullin criticized the democrats for their perceived hypocrisy about personal conduct,\u200b pointing out that some had been involved in questionable behavior themselves without outcome. Meanwhile,\u200d Senator Elizabeth Warren attempted to challenge Hegseth on his stance\u200d regarding <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-paul-faucis-emails-prove-he-knew-about-gain-of-function-research\/\" title=\"Sen. Paul: Fauci&#039;s Emails Prove He Knew About Gain of Function Research\">military generals<\/a> working<\/a> in the defense industry, but her tactic backfired \u2063as Hegseth deflected her \u2063question \u2063effectively. the hearing was marked by significant tension \u2063and political posturing from both sides.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Pete Hegseth appeared Tuesday for his first confirmation hearing before the Senate to lead the Department of Defense. While most Democrats wasted their time inquiring into Hegseth&rsquo;s personal life, Republicans asked questions about how Hegseth would make America safer and stronger. <\/p>\n<p>Here are the top viral moments from Hegseth&rsquo;s confirmation hearing. <\/p>\n<h2>Tim Kaine Can&rsquo;t Stop Talking About Sex<\/h2>\n<p>Virginia Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine spent his allotted time focusing on Hegseth&rsquo;s sex life. Kaine focused on a sexual relationship Hegseth had in 2017, noting Hegseth had a wife at the time and had, two months prior, just welcomed a new child into the world with his now third wife, Jennifer Rauchet. <\/p>\n<p>A woman <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/21\/the-police-report-about-pete-hegseths-alleged-sexual-assault-vindicates-him-of-criminality\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">previously<\/a> accused Hegseth of sexual assault after an alleged 2017 interaction between the two. However, <a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2024\/11\/21\/politics\/pete-hegseth-police-report-defense-secretary-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reports<\/a> say that prosecutors did not&nbsp;bring charges due to a lack of &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/hegseth-assault-allegations-police-report-trump-e6ebec0a1a5c7fb51cb5e2198f5e12a5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">proof beyond a reasonable doubt<\/a>,&rdquo; and Hegseth also testified in the hearing the matter had been &ldquo;fully investigated&rdquo; and he was &ldquo;completely cleared&rdquo; of wrongdoing. Nevertheless, Kaine continued to push the issue.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;So you think you are completely cleared because you committed no crime? That&rsquo;s your definition of cleared?&rdquo; Kaine asked. &ldquo;I am shocked that you would stand here and say you are completely cleared &mdash; 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?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Notably, Kaine was the running mate of Hillary Clinton, whose husband had an affair with a White House intern. Kaine also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2024\/07\/22\/us\/politics\/kamala-harris-democrats-endorsement-list.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">endorsed<\/a> Vice President Kamala Harris, whose husband Doug Emhoff was <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/24\/ex-girlfriend-kamala-harris-husband-slapped-me-in-the-face\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">accused<\/a> of physically abusing at least one woman.<\/p>\n<h2>Markwayne Mullin Rips Dems Over Hypocrisy <\/h2>\n<p>In response to Kaine&rsquo;s line of &ldquo;questioning,&rdquo; Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., tore into Democrats&rsquo; hypocrisy, calling out Senators who have allegedly voted under the influence and cheated on their wives.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>&#128680; 911, I NEED TO REPORT ANOTHER M*RDER.<\/p>\n<p>SENATOR MARKWAYNE MULLIN: Democratic senators are worried about people joining the defense industry after serving&hellip; Secretary Austin &ndash; you all voted for &ndash; he stepped off the board of Raytheon. I guess that&#8217;s OK, because that&#8217;s a Democrat&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VTcb0NZniD\">pic.twitter.com\/VTcb0NZniD<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&mdash; Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EricLDaugh\/status\/1879223225520927047?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;How many senators have showed up drunk to vote at night? Have any of you guys asked them to step down and resign from their job? And don&rsquo;t tell me you haven&rsquo;t seen it, because I know you have!&rdquo; Mullin said. &ldquo;And how many senators do you know have gotten a divorce for cheating on their wives? Did you ask them to step down?&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;[I]t&rsquo;s for show. You guys make sure you make a big show &hellip; because the man&rsquo;s [Hegseth] made a mistake, and you wanna sit there and say that he&rsquo;s not qualified?&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It is so ridiculous that you guys hold yourselves as this &lsquo;higher standard,&rsquo; and you forget you got a big plank in your eye.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>Pocahontas Mis-General&rsquo;s Hegseth<\/h2>\n<p>The crowd erupted into laughter when Massachusetts Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren tried to have a &ldquo;gotcha moment&rdquo; but instead was the one getting got.<\/p>\n<p>She noted how Hegseth previously stated he didn&rsquo;t believe military generals should be allowed to serve in the defense industry for 10 years after they retire from service.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The question I have for you on this is, will you put your money where your mouth is and agree that when you leave this job, you will not work for the defense industry for 10 years?&rdquo; Warren asked.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Senator, it&rsquo;s not even a question I&rsquo;ve thought about,&rdquo; Hegseth said. &ldquo;My motivation for this job has never been about what could conceivably come next.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In other words, you&rsquo;re quite sure that every general who serves should not go directly into the defense industry for 10 years, but you&rsquo;re not willing to make that same pledge?&rdquo; Warren asked.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>The room erupts in laughter after Pete Hegseth dunks on Elizabeth Warren<\/p>\n<p>Warren: &#8220;You are quite sure every General who serves should not go directly into the defense industry for 10 years but you&#8217;re not willing to make that same pledge?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Hegseth: &#8220;I&#8217;m not a General, Senator&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/w4eCMt6j95\">pic.twitter.com\/w4eCMt6j95<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&mdash; Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RealSaavedra\/status\/1879219966232424452?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not a general, Senator,&rdquo; Hegseth responded as members of the crowd broke out in laughter.<\/p>\n<h2>Hegseth Defends Israel&rsquo;s Fight Against Hamas<\/h2>\n<p>Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., asked a rather simple but powerful question of Hegseth.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I support Israel&rsquo;s existential war in Gaza,&rdquo; Cotton said. &ldquo;I assume like me and President Trump, you support that war as well, don&rsquo;t you?&rdquo; <\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>BREAKING: Senator Tom Cotton asks Pete Hegseth &#8220;Do you support Israel&#8217;s war in Gaza?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Pete Hegseth: &#8220;I support Israel destroying and killing every last member of Hamas.&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RKSrxVtU5z\">pic.twitter.com\/RKSrxVtU5z<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&mdash; Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EYakoby\/status\/1879199280927498752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;I support Israel destroying and killing every last member of Hamas,&rdquo; Hegseth testified. <\/p>\n<h2>Hegseth Proves He&rsquo;s A Man Of Soldiers &mdash; Not Military Industrial Complex <\/h2>\n<p>Newly elected Montana Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy started his line of questioning by asking Hegseth &ldquo;how many genders&rdquo; there are.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Senator, there are two genders,&rdquo; Hegseth said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;What is the diameter of the rifle round fired out of an M4A1 rifle?&rdquo; Sheehy went on to ask.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a 5.56,&rdquo; Hegseth said without hesitation.<\/p>\n<p>Sheehy later followed up, asking &ldquo;How many rounds of 5.56 can you fit into the magazine of an M4 rifle?&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Depends on the magazine, but standard issue is 30,&rdquo; Hegseth said.<\/p>\n<p>Sheehy also asked how many push-ups Hegseth could do. Hegseth responded that he did &ldquo;five sets of 47 this morning.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>SENATOR TIM SHEEHY: How many genders are there?<\/p>\n<p>HEGSETH: Two.<\/p>\n<p>SHEEHY: I know that well, I&#8217;m a &#8220;she-he (Sheehy).&#8221; What is the diameter of a rifle round fired out of an M4A1? <\/p>\n<p>HEGSETH: 5.56.<\/p>\n<p>SHEEHY: How many pushups can you do?<\/p>\n<p>HEGSETH: I did 5 sets of 47 this morning.&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/67hcWgS0Sa\">pic.twitter.com\/67hcWgS0Sa<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&mdash; Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EricLDaugh\/status\/1879239141721829595?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>After concluding his brief and direct line of questioning, Sheehy noted how Hegseth&rsquo;s responses &ldquo;represent[ed] qualifications that show [he] understand what the warfighter deals with every single day on the battlefield.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pete Hegseth&#8217;s Senate confirmation hearing focused on personal issues rather than defense<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2390295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Screenshot-2025-01-14-at-3.05.01-PM-e1736885212379-1024x576.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[45014,45173,36089],"class_list":["post-2390294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-confirmation-hearing","tag-hegseth","tag-viral-moments"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Screenshot-2025-01-14-at-3.05.01-PM-e1736885212379-1024x576.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2390294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2390294"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2390294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2390298,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2390294\/revisions\/2390298"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2390295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2390294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2390294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2390294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}