The Washington Examiner’s Byron York assessed that Pete Hegseth‘s “really strong” performance in Tuesday’s Senate confirmation hearing solidified his support among Republicans despite excessive grilling from Senate Democrats.
During Hegseth’s hearing for secretary of defense in President-elect Donald Trump‘s Cabinet, many Democrats questioned him over various allegations against him and his qualifications to properly fulfill the role. York, the Washington Examiner’s chief political correspondent, was asked if Hegseth could “sail through” the confirmation process from here on out, to which he agreed, citing his performance at the hearing and how it “united” Senate Republicans.
“And I have to say, some of the questioning at that hearing, particularly by Senator Kaine, the Democrat from Virginia, who actually was Hillary Clinton’s running mate in 2016, it was some of the ugliest questioning I have ever seen in a Senate confirmation hearing,” York said on Fox News’s Fox & Friends. “So I think the question, maybe, from the Hegseth hearing is whether Democrats are going to try that with anybody else, certainly might with the more controversial nominees, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard. But I don’t think we’re going to see that with any of the ones going in front of the Senate today.”
While questioning Hegseth, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) said the defense secretary nominee had “fathered a child two months before” an alleged assault against a woman “that was not your wife.” Hegseth maintained that the allegation of sexual assault was “false” but did not deny that the sexual encounter occurred.
Additional hearings for Trump’s nominees are continuing Wednesday, including for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Pam Bondi, the latter of whom is Trump’s nominee for attorney general. York predicted that Bondi could receive “some of the tougher questioning,” specifically from Democrats over her support of some of Trump’s claims on the 2020 election.
Conversely, Rubio could end up receiving “kind of a lovefest” in this confirmation process. Trump nominated Rubio to be his administration’s secretary of state.
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Tuesday saw two key Republicans, Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), announce their support for Hegseth following his hearing. The two previously expressed hesitation but chose to advocate their support for Trump’s nominee.
Other nominees who will face hearings Wednesday include Russell Vought, Trump’s nominee for director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Sean Duffy, his nominee for transportation secretary.