Fact-check: What did Pete Hegseth say in defence confirmation hearing?

In his January 14 confirmation hearing, Pete Hegseth, United States President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defence secretary, faced scrutiny over his level of experience and personal conduct.

In the first of several high-profile confirmation hearings for Trump’s second-term nominees, Republican senators frequently touted Hegseth’s military experience and applauded his commitment to unravelling what he considers to be “woke” policies that the Biden administration adopted at the Pentagon.

Democratic senators, meanwhile, grilled Hegseth on his readiness to direct a large bureaucracy, his views on what roles women should have in the military and allegations of alcohol abuse and sexual assault — most of which he dismissed as anonymous “smears” from critics, including the news media.

In Hegseth’s opening statement at the four-hour hearing, he said, if confirmed, he would restore “warrior culture” at the Department of Defense, maintain high standards for troops and ensure readiness to fight.

Combat experience among defence secretaries

Hegseth and one of his presenters touted the nominee’s tenure as a rank-and-file service member on the front lines. But they exaggerated how unusual this background is for recent defence secretaries.

Michael Waltz, a Republican congressman from Florida and Trump’s pick for national security adviser, introduced Hegseth, saying he “will bring the perspective of being the first Secretary of Defense to have served as a junior officer on the front lines, not in the headquarters, on the front lines in the war on terror”.

Hegseth echoed that point, saying, “It’s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm.”

Hegseth joined the US Army Reserves in May 2001. About a year later, he joined the National Guard, serving in New Jersey, New York, Minnesota, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. He was deployed to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, Iraq and Afghanistan and earned two Bronze Stars and a combat infantry badge. When he retired in March 2021, Hegseth held the rank of major.

But active service on the front lines is not unusual among recent defence secretaries, including in relatively junior positions:

• Mark Esper, appointed by Trump during his first term, served in the army and saw combat during the Gulf War as an infantry officer with the 101st Airborne Division.
• James Mattis, also appointed by Trump during his first term, commanded the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, an assault battalion, during the Gulf War. He was a lieutenant-colonel then.
• Chuck Hagel, appointed by former President Barack Obama, was drafted into the army during the Vietnam War, even though a draft board recommended he did not need to enlist. He served as a sergeant in the infantry in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968. He was injured and earned two Purple Hearts.
• William Perry, appointed by President Bill Clinton, served in the army as an enlistee from 1946 to 1947, during the occupation of Japan.

The outgoing defence secretary appointed by President Joe Biden, Lloyd Austin, served in a more senior capacity, leading the 3rd Infantry Division from Kuwait to Baghdad.

Other recent defence secretaries with lower-level service in a military branch include Les Aspin, Donald Rumsfeld, Robert Gates and Leon Panetta.

Did Hegseth’s tattoos bar him from serving at Biden’s inauguration?

Hegseth said at the hearing, “I also volunteered to guard the inauguration of Joe Biden, but was denied the opportunity to serve because I was identified as an extremist by my own unit for a Christian tattoo.”

Hegseth has tattoos of the Jerusalem cross and the Latin phrase “Deus Vult”, which means “God wills it”. In multiple interviews, Hegseth has said he was barred from serving with the National Guard at Biden’s 2021 inauguration because of his cross tattoo. He did not mention his “Deus Vult” tattoo in these interviews or during the hearing.

The Associated Press news agency reported that another guard member flagged Hegseth’s “Deus Vult” tattoo as a possible “insider threat” because of its association with supremacist groups. Hegseth was told not to report to the inauguration.

Christianity experts told PolitiFact that the Jerusalem cross and the “Deus Vult” phrase date back to the Crusades and now are often connected to hardline groups.

Does the military prosecute adultery?

Democratic Senator from Virginia Tim Kaine sparred with Hegseth over his past behaviour towards women and his three marriages.

The AP, citing court records and Hegseth’s social media posts, reported that Hegseth’s second wife “filed for divorce after he had a child with a Fox News producer who is now his wife” and that his first marriage also ended following his infidelity.

None of this happened while Hegseth was in the military, so he would have faced no military legal consequences.

But some critics have warned that a history of adultery could pose a problem for someone leading an organisation in which adultery, in certain contexts, is punishable.

Actions that could be considered prosecutable include things such as sex between a supervisor and subordinate or between a military member and another military member’s spouse, said Todd Huntley, director of Georgetown University’s National Security Law Program.

But historically, adultery has not been charged on its own. It has been charged as an additional count if some other misconduct was also alleged, Huntley said.

And today, adultery charges are even less common than they once were, Huntley said.

What has Hegseth said about waterboarding?

Democrats have criticised Hegseth’s stance on waterboarding. But his statements about the interrogation procedure have been about specific scenarios, some of which predated the 2015 law that banned waterboarding.

In a January 7 letter before Hegseth’s confirmation hearing, Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic senator from Massachusetts, wrote: “Hegseth has supported the use of torture, including the use of waterboarding.”

In the confirmation hearing, Angus King, an independent senator from Maine who caucuses with Democrats, asked Hegseth, “Your position is, torture’s OK? Is that correct? Waterboarding?”

Hegseth responded, “Senator, that is not what I said. I’ve never been party to torture. We are a country that fights by the rule of law, and our men and women always do, and yet we have too many people here in air-conditioned offices that like to point fingers at the guys in dark and dangerous places, the gals in helicopters [in] enemy territory, who are doing things that people in Washington, DC, would never dare to do.”

Hegseth discussed waterboarding in 2008 and 2016 Fox News interviews. He said waterboarding could be useful in specific scenarios.

In 2008, when he was affiliated with the group Vets for Freedom, Hegseth appeared on Fox News with then-host Bill O’Reilly, who asked him, “So, you don’t have any problem with waterboarding [9/11 attacks conspirator] Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, as (then-Vice President) Dick Cheney didn’t have any problem, right?”

Hegseth responded, “Personally in this particular instance, I don’t.”

During a 2016 Fox News discussion on Obama’s CIA director, John Brennan, Hegseth said Brennan had flip-flopped on the issue of waterboarding. “Will the real Brennan please stand up? Because this is the guy that previously said these types of techniques helped us find [Osama] bin Laden, helped us find key clues from al-Qaeda … He’s clearly playing his part in the political campaign right now” between then-presidential candidates Trump and Hillary Clinton.

During the confirmation hearing, Hegseth said if confirmed as defence secretary, he would follow the law. When King asked, “Are you OK with waterboarding”, Hegseth said, “Senator, the law of the land is that waterboarding is not legal.”

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