Hegseth Walks Back Controversial Comments On Women And Gays In The Military

Donald Trump's allies have taken credit for getting Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) to bend on the president-elect’s pick for Pentagon chief. But the past 24 hours have shown the former Fox News host is bending too.

Pete Hegseth softened his stance against women in combat and gays in the military after he previously suggested they shouldn’t fill those roles.

His evolving rhetoric — which came after meetings with more moderate senators — signals an effort to soothe lingering concerns his leadership might cause upheaval to a diverse, modern military. It could also serve as a guide for Trump’s other would-be nominees who face headwinds in their confirmations.

Hegseth has called policies allowing gays and transgender troops to serve in the military part of a “Marxist agenda.” But on Thursday, when he met with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), reporters asked him whether he thought gays should serve in the military, and he replied, “Yes.”

And once an unapologetic critic of women serving in combat roles, Hegseth called women “some of our greatest warriors” during a recent Fox News appearance.

The apparent pivot comes as Hegseth faces allegations of sexual assault, excessive drinking and financial mismanagement — all of which have led to more probing questions about his suitability for the role. And it follows meetings with potential confirmation swing vote Republican senators such as Ernst, Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).

Even so, the president-elect could quickly adopt Hegseth’s hardline views when he takes office.

Hegseth has been working to explain himself behind closed doors. Collins, after meeting with him for nearly 90 minutes, told reporters that he had backpedaled on women in combat.

Asked if he indicated more openness, she replied, “Yes. I’m not going to get into specifics but I did bring that up, and I pressed him on it since that’s an issue that matters to me.”

Last month, Hegseth went on “The Shawn Ryan Show” and said “I’m straight up just saying, we should not have women in combat roles.”

Those comments have since dogged his bid for the Pentagon job. On Monday’s Fox News interview, Hegseth argued his previous remarks had been misconstrued.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who is opposed to a compulsory military draft for women, said he checked in with Hegseth on the issue during their Wednesday meeting and Hegseth agreed with him. But Hegseth also volunteered that he was for women serving in combat, Hawley said.

“He was asked in our post-meeting gaggle [with reporters] whether he was supportive of women in combat and his answer was he was supportive of that,” Hawley said.

Brian Hughes, a Trump spokesperson said only that Hegseth wanted the military to focus on prioritizing strength rather than diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

“Like President Trump, Pete wants to see the U.S. military focus on being the world’s strongest fighting force — not on cultural and social issues,” Hughes said. “If you can meet the standards, you can serve. But given the threats we face, our priorities shouldn’t be lowering standards and wasting taxpayer money to meet arbitrary social quotas. Our priorities should be readiness and lethality.”

Senators have advised Hegseth to think about how he will publicly explain his views on women in combat before his confirmation hearing in a few weeks, which is expected to garner lots of attention.

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Hegseth’s public and private explanations have improved his chances of being confirmed. “I don’t think we can go to war without women as part of our team, and so that needed to be explained a bit better,” he said.

Some Republican senators shrugged off Hegseth’s moderating stances as a routine part of the confirmation process and a sign the Senate was doing its job.

“That's just a natural part of the ‘advise and consent’ process,” Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a senior Senate Armed Services member, said in an interview. “You’ve got senators on Armed Services. We've been doing this for a long time. They not only have views, but they have experience, and that's what happens when you go through the process.”

Hegseth is meeting with more than 20 senators this week, with Ernst one of the most closely watched. After Ernst’s second meeting with Hegseth on Monday, the combat veteran and advocate for survivors of military sexual assault shifted her rhetoric from skepticism to encouragement.

Ernst called Hegseth "very supportive of women in the military." She also said in a statement that Hegseth agreed to appoint a senior official to "uphold the roles and value of our servicemen and women — based on quality and standards, not quotas" as well as to combat sexual assault in the ranks.

The Iowa Republican faced a strong pressure campaign by Trump allies before she warmed her tone, leaving the president-elect’s team optimistic about his chances.

“I heard he was changing his tune a little bit on women in combat,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), a Trump ally. “Sometimes you make comments that you don't really want to stand by, sometimes, you know, when you're not up for confirmation."

The backtrack is unlikely to mollify Hegseth’s harshest critics on Capitol Hill, who argue his true positions are those he aired before being tapped for the Pentagon job.

"Trump nominees lie all the time in order to get confirmed, don't they?" said Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), an Army combat veteran who lost both her legs in Iraq. "So, I don't trust him.”