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Beyond Matt Gaetz<\/strong>, there has been perhaps no Donald Trump<\/strong> nominee with as fraught a path to confirmation as Pete Hegseth<\/strong>. Soon after the president-elect announced him as his pick for defense secretary, the former Fox News host was beset by the publicization of a sexual assault accusation (which he\u2019s denied), as well as reports about his alleged professional misconduct and drinking on the job<\/a>. (The nominee has claimed<\/a> that he\u2019s \u201cnever had a drinking problem.\u201d)<\/p>\n Hegseth\u2019s troubling comments and writings on women and LGBTQ Americans in the military also recirculated, drawing concern not only from Democratic lawmakers, but some Republicans. The military vet-turned-TV-star would \u201chave his work cut out for him,\u201d said GOP Senator Joni Ernst<\/strong>, a veteran who has been outspoken about her experience as a survivor of sexual assault. His mother, in a 2018 email that surfaced late last year<\/a>, chastised the nominee for his treatment of women (and then walked back the comments when they were made public).<\/p>\n As his confirmation process kicked off Tuesday, Hegseth repeatedly avoided engaging with the specific allegations against him, instead claiming he\u2019s the victim of an \u201canonymous smear campaign\u201d and his only fault was being human. \u201cI\u2019m not a perfect person,\u201d Hegseth told senators, \u201cbut redemption is real, and God forged me in ways that I know I\u2019m prepared for, and I\u2019m honored by the people standing and sitting behind me and look forward to leading this Pentagon on behalf of the warfighters.\u201d The more sordid accusations, he said, were merely part of that political hit job, similar to the one Trump has long claimed to face. \u201cAll they were out to do\u2026was to destroy me,\u201d Hegseth declared.<\/p>\n The hearing was, as expected, explosive: Protesters disrupted<\/a> the proceedings at several points, and Democrats attempted to corner Hegseth on the allegations against him, some of which were first<\/a> detailed<\/a> by Vanity Fair<\/em>\u2019s own Gabriel Sherman<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cMr. Hegseth, I do not believe you\u2019re qualified for this job,\u201d Jack Reed<\/strong>, ranking member on the Armed Services Committee, told<\/a> the nominee. \u201cYou are no longer on Fox & Friends<\/em>,\u201d said Mazie Hirono<\/strong>, who grilled Hegseth on his alleged drinking habits, as well as Trump\u2019s suggestions that he would use the military to police US citizens and annex Greenland. \u201cIf confirmed, your words, actions, and decisions will have real impacts on national security and our service members\u2019 lives,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n