Defence secretary nominee challenged by Democrats at fraught Senate hearing

Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's controversial pick for US defence secretary, defended his record in a contentious Senate confirmation hearing yesterday, acknowledging that he was "not a perfect person," as Democratic lawmakers grilled the military veteran and Fox News host on allegations of sexual assault, excessive alcohol use and financial mismanagement.

- Joan E Greve

Hegseth can afford to lose the votes of only three Senate Republicans, assuming every Democratic senator opposes his nomination, and a number of members have voiced concerns about his background and his views on women in the military.

Hegseth pushed back against the criticism, dismissing the controversies as a "coordinated smear campaign orchestrated in the media", and pitched himself as a "change agent" who would lead the Pentagon into a new era.

"From story after story in the media, leftwing media, we saw anonymous source after anonymous source based on second- or thirdhand accounts," Hegseth said. "I'm not a perfect person, but redemption is real, and God forged me in ways that I know I'm prepared for, and I'm honoured by the people standing and sitting behind me and look forward to leading this Pentagon on behalf of the war fighters."

Republicans on the Senate armed services committee sought to defend Hegseth, asking easy questions and echoing his concerns about anonymous sources attacking his character. Describing Hegseth as an "unconventional" nominee, Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the committee, praised him as an "excellent choice to improve this unacceptable status quo".