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Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticized Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth for his views on women in the military, pointing to comments Hegseth made as recently as November that the U.S. military “should not have women in combat roles.” “.

“You made a number of surprising statements about women in the military,” Shaheen told Hegseth, before noting that women make up about 18% of U.S. military personnel.

“Women in our military, as I have said publicly, have made and continue to make amazing contributions in all aspects of our battlefield,” Hegseth responded

In response, Shaheen said his public statements before his nomination “were not in that vein.”

“After your nomination, you told a group of reporters that you support all women serving in our military today and doing fantastic work around the world, including in combat,” she said.

“So what confuses me, Mr. Hegseth, is why women in our military – if you were defense minister – would believe that they would have a fair chance and equal opportunity to rise in the ranks? On the one hand, when you say that women aren’t competent, they make our military less effective – and on the other hand, you say, ‘Oh, now that I’ve been named Secretary of Defense, I’ve changed my view of women in the military.'”

In response, Hegseth reiterated to Shaheen that his concerns were about standards for women in combat roles and that they should ensure that these were not eroded by allowing women to serve at all levels of the military.

“I would be honored to have the opportunity to serve alongside men and women. black-and-white; all with a common background,” said Hegseth.

Written by Breanne Deppisch, video by Julia Johnson