Protesters interrupted Pete Hegseth’s opening testimony Tuesday at his confirmation hearing to be President-elect Donald Trump’s defense secretary, drawing repeated rebukes from the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
One of the protesters, the third in a rapid series, was carried out of the room in cartoonish style, yelling at the panel from a horizontal position as officers held his torso and legs.
Mr. Hegseth had begun his high-stakes testimony to Chairman Roger Wicker and other senators when a man in a white jacket started yelling.
“You are a misogynist,” the man said before he was ushered out by officers.
“I want to thank the authorities for their quick reaction to that outburst, and state that similar interruptions will be treated in like manner,” said Mr. Wicker, Mississippi Republican.
Moments later, persons from the Code Pink anti-war group — dressed in trademark bright pink — were escorted out by officers after they disrupted the hearing. The group is a common presence on Capitol Hill.
“I see a pattern,” Mr. Wicker said.
Sure enough, a man in a green jacket began shouting at the nominee, only to be picked up and taken out the door.
Mr. Hegseth, a combat veteran and former Fox News host, is defending his record and qualifications after a series of unflattering reports about his past behavior, including toward women.
Supporters of the nominee say he is a qualified soldier and that opponents are leading a smear campaign against him.
Mr. Hegseth said the “left-wing media” doesn’t care about the truth and is trying to destroy him because he is a “change agent” who will bring the Defense Department back to its war-fighting mission.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.