Pete Hegseth’s views on women in combat were a matter of public record long before the Senate heard his case to become Donald Trump’s Defense secretary. Women are “life-givers,” Hegseth wrote in his 2024 book,

Pete Hegseth has dismissed the role of women in the military in past interviews and in his own writing. “I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles,” Hegseth said during a November appearance on “The Shawn Ryan Show” podcast.

Joni Ernst had been seen as a key hurdle to Pete Hegseth’s confirmation. She approached her questions firmly but without confrontation Tuesday.

Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's nominee for Defense secretary, faced criticism for his past comments about women in combat.

Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth was grilled by female senators during his confirmation hearing over his past statements about women in combat. New York Sen.

Mass., asked Pete Hegseth which of his "core values" changed following his nomination for secretary of defense that caused him to shift his long-held opinion that women do not belong in combat "at all.

Senators of both parties hammered Pete Hegseth, Trump’s Defense nominee, over his past comments about women serving in the military.