Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth defended his past comments about women serving in combat, saying he is focused on standards that have eroded for such roles, not the gender of the service member.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Democrat, read aloud some of Mr. Hegseth’s past comments about women being less effective in combat roles, including one from a podcast in which he said, “I’m straight up saying we should not have women in combat roles.”

Mr. Hegseth said Tuesday that women in the military “have and continue to make amazing contributions across all aspects of our battlefields” and that his comments are not meant to disparage their service.

“When I’m talking about that issue, it’s not about the capabilities of men and women, it’s about standards,” he said, asserting that standards over time have “eroded in certain duty positions, certain schools, certain places, which affects readiness, which is what I care about the most, readiness on the battlefield.”

Ms. Shaheen responded that his “statements publicly have not been to that effect” and asked why women in the military should believe what he is saying now that he’s nominated for defense secretary over what he has said previously.

“What do you have to say to the almost 400,000 women who are serving today about your position on whether they should be capable to rise through the highest ranks of our military?” she said.

Mr. Hegseth said he would tell those women that he would be honored to serve alongside them and that they would be “treated fairly, with dignity, honor and respect.”

• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.