Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) used Pete Hegseth's own words against him during a tense exchange at Hegseth's confirmation hearing Tuesday.
President-elect Donald Trump nominated the controversial Hegseth to be his secretary of defense, opening up questions about his attitudes toward women and their role in the military. Warren claimed that Hegseth changed his tune on women in combat in order to get confirmed.
"Just 32 days after your last public comment saying that women absolutely should not be in combat, you declared that, quote, 'Some of our greatest warriors are women,' and you support having them serve in combat," Warren said. "Now that is a very, very big about face in a very, very short period of time. So, help me understand, Mr. Hegseth, what extraordinary event happened in that 32-day period that made you change the core values you had expressed for the preceding 12 years?"
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Hegseth answered, "Senator, again, I very much appreciate you bringing up my comments from 2013, because for me, this issue has always been about standards, and unfortunately, because of some of the people that have been in political power for the last four years —"
Warren interrupted, "Excuse me, Mr. Hegseth! Let's just stop, let's just stop, let's just stop right there! Mr. Hegseth, I'm quoting you from a podcast: 'Women shouldn't be in combat at all!' Where is the reference to standards that they should be there if they can carry, if they can run? I don't see that at all, Mr. Hegseth. What I see is, that there's a 32-day period in which you suddenly have another description about your views of women in the military, and I just want to know, what changed in the 32 days that the song you sang is not the song you come in here today to sing?"
As Hegseth reiterated his concern that that the military has changed its standards in pursuit of "quotas," Warren interjected, "No, let me make a suggestion about what happened in that 32 days. You got a nomination for President Trump! Now, I've heard of deathbed conversions, but this is the first time I've heard of a nomination conversion!"
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