By Jon Keller
January 14, 2025 / 5:32 PM EST / CBS Boston
The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller’s, not those of WBZ, CBS News or Paramount Global.
BOSTON – Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth answered questions about misconduct allegations, war crimes and his drinking habits at his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday.
But some of the most pointed questions were about his views on women in the military.
Where does Hegseth stand on women in combat?
“You said, and I quote, ‘I’m straight up saying that we should not have women in combat roles,'” noted New Hampshire’s Jeanne Shaheen, who led a parade of senators confronting Hegseth with his own quotes.
“For 12 years, you were quite open about your views, and your views were consistently the same – women are inferior soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen and guardians,” added Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
But since those views drew fire after his nomination in November, Hegseth has a new position directly contrary to his old one. “Women in our military, as I have said publicly, have and continue to make amazing contributions across all aspects of our battlefield,” he said.
“Which is it?” wondered Shaheen.
“I’ve heard of deathbed conversions, but this is the first time I’ve heard of a nomination conversion,” quipped Warren.
But this is far from the first time a nominee confronted with a controversial topic has served senators fudge instead of truth.
Presidential nominees often evasive
Trump Supreme Court nominees Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch pushed back against suggestions they would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, the law legalizing abortion nationwide.
“Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey have been reaffirmed many times,” said Kavanaugh at his hearing.
“A fetus is not a person for purposes of the 14th Amendment … that’s the law of the land [and] I accept the law of the land,” said Gorsuch.
A few years later, both voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“I’ve never had a nominee who refused to meet in advance – Republican or Democrat – but this guy they’re trying to rush through before the American people get focused on a man who thinks women should not serve in the military,” said Warren after the hearing.
I had my doubts about whether or not Hegseth would make it a month ago after a substantial flood of negative stories about his personal and professional conduct. But there’s been nothing new in the past few weeks, which is an eternity in Washington, and while the Republican majority can only afford to lose four votes, it doesn’t seem like that’s likely.
Certainly, his evasions today are nothing unusual.
Jon Keller is the political analyst for WBZ-TV News. His “Keller @ Large” reports on a wide range of topics are regularly featured during WBZ News at 5 and 6 p.m.
