Sen. Markwayne Mullin electrified a Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday by accusing fellow senators of carousing and voting while drunk even as they accused defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth of unseemly behavior.

“How many senators have showed up drunk to vote at night?” said Mr. Mullin, Oklahoma Republican. “How many senators have gotten a divorce because they’ve cheated on their wives?”

The eyebrow-raising comments came partway through a four-hour confirmation hearing for Mr. Hegseth, a combat veteran and former Fox News host whom President-elect Donald Trump selected to run the Department of Defense.

Democrats kicked off the hearing by questioning his supervisory capabilities and claims that he drank on the job or made unwanted advances on women who were not his wife.

Mr. Mullin said he Googled the qualifications for secretary of Defense and there’s little set in statute beyond that it has to be someone who has been retired from military service for at least seven years.

“There are a lot of senators I wouldn’t have on my board because there are no qualifications except your age and you gotta be living in the state — and you’re a citizen of the United States — to be a senator,” Mr. Mullin said. “Other than the fact we gotta convince a lot of people to vote for us.”

Mr. Mullin said it was hypocritical of senators to drill down on qualifications and personal behavior.

“We’ve all made mistakes,” Mr. Mullin said, saying he was guilty of his own. “My wife’s had to forgive me more than once, too.”

Mr. Mullin also gave Mr. Hegseth a chance to sing his wife’s praises before the committee.

The senator’s remarks drew a lot of online chatter but could be viewed as risky, given it highlighted Mr. Hegseth’s alleged foibles after the nominee spent hours saying he was misunderstood and the victim of left-wing attempts to assassinate his character.

Still, Mr. Hegseth’s supporters responded favorably to the exchange and applauded the senator when he was done.

“He’s been willing to see friends die for this country,” Mr. Mullin said, highlighting Mr. Hegseth’s combat roles. “His wife is willing to still stand beside him knowing he wasn’t perfect, knowing that all this was going to be brought up, and he’s still willing to serve the country. What other qualifications does he need?”

• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.

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