Former Fox News host and military veteran Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's nominee for defence secretary, is being grilled by a Senate committee – watch live above
He's challenged over previous comments made about women in the military; elsewhere he vows to restore a "warrior ethos" to the Pentagon
Hegseth also dismissed questions over reports of his drinking, calling them a "smear campaign"
The hearing was disrupted several times as Hegseth attempted to deliver his opening statement, with police removing protestors from the committee room, the BBC's Rachel Looker reports
The strategy to undermine his nomination appears likely to focus on three key areas: his qualifications, management experience and misconduct allegations, Anthony Zurcher writes
Hegseth is the first of Trump's nominees to be grilled as part of a process that will see them either approved or rejected for the roles the president-elect has nominated them for
This video can not be played
Hegseth confronts senators over women's roles in the military
Edited by Emily Atkinson and Lisa Lambert in Washington DC
Rachel Looker
Reporting from Capitol Hill
We're now hearing from Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, a Democrat and a retired Navy captain.
Kelly posed repeated allegations about Hegseth's conduct, asking for the nominee to respond to each claim as true or false.
Kelly listed several allegations including incidents of public intoxication, passing out in the back of a party bus and taking young staff to a strip club.
Hegseth responded the same to each claim: "Anonymous smears".
Kelly pushed for true or false answers, but Hegseth wouldn't budge in clarifying for the Arizona senator. 
Nomia Iqbal
North America correspondent, reporting from Capitol Hill
As I mentioned earlier on today, Pete Hegseth did not mention Ukraine in his opening statement, but said he would end wars responsibly.
Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen brought up Ukraine just now, asking how President-elect Donald Trump would resolve the war quickly.
Many in Congress who are in favour of the US continuing to financially back Ukraine believe a peace plan would look like a victory for Vladimir Putin.
When asked if any concessions would be made to Putin, Hegseth gives an anodyne answer: “I will always give my clear guidance, best guidance, to the president of the United States on matters like that.”Rachel Looker
Reporting from Capitol Hill
We're hearing senators on the Armed Services Committee repeatedly mention entering certain documents and papers "into the record".
This means submitting a piece of evidence – think a document, statement, photo or video – into an official record of proceedings.
Information that enters the record becomes part of permanent congressional documentation and can be compiled to reference in the future.
Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen is questioning Hegseth now and asks about the Trump administration's plans for the ongoing fighting in Ukraine.
Rosen asks Hegseth if he has knowledge of a plan to end the war without unacceptable concession to Russian President Vladimir Putin – Hegseth doesn't say if he knows.
But he adds that he will always give clear guidance to Trump.
Trump has previously promised to end the war in Ukraine within 100 days of re-entering the White House. Nomia Iqbal
North America correspondent, reporting from Capitol Hill
This video can not be played
Watch: Senator Duckworth says Hegseth is 'not qualified' in fiery questioning
If Hegseth gets this job, he'll face an array of global problems from countries such as Russia, China, North Korea and Iran, not to mention the ongoing conflicts America is involved in.
Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth – who lost her legs while serving in the army – is combative in her tone. She has made clear beforehand that Hegseth should not be in charge of one of the most important agencies in the world.
She tells him now: “Our adversaries watch closely during times of transition, and any sense that the Department of Defense that keeps us safe is being steered by someone who’s wholly unprepared for the job puts America at risk, and I am not willing to do that.”
She also points out the hypocrisy of Hegseth asking for standards when it comes to women in combat roles.
"Here's a guy who can't meet the standards and is asking for special dispensation to do a job that he's not qualified to do," she says.
To underline the point, Hegseth is unable to answer Senator Duckworth's question about the number nations theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Hegseth replied: "We have allies in South Korea, Japan, and Australia."
"None of those countries are in ASEAN," Duckworth says.
Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth is clearly frustrated with Hegseth's nomination.
Duckworth, a veteran herself, questions Hegseth about the number of people he has led in the past and about his comments about women in the military.
In a round of fiery statements, she yells and points to a framed "Soldier's Creed" behind her.
And during her closing statement she said, "You, sir, are a no-go at this station".
Signalling, it appears, she won't vote Hegseth.
Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin is defending Hegseth against Democrats' line of questioning about his drinking and affairs in his previous marriages.
Mullin says senators show up drunk to vote at night and their colleagues don't complain about that.
The Oklahoma senator also mentions that other senators cheat on their wives, "it's so ridiculous that you guys hold yourself to these high standards and you have a plank in your eye".
The room, once again, breaks out in applause. Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat who questioned Hegseth earlier, is seen shaking his head.
Democratic Senator Gary Peters makes it clear he's concerned about Hegseth leading millions of employees given his previous work experience.
"You have not convinced me that you are able to take on this tremendous responsibility with this complex organisation with little or no management experience," Peters says.
Peters pushes Hegseth to say exactly how many people reported to him during his tenure at non-profit. Hegseth says about eight or ten people.
Republican Senator Roger Wicker, who is leading the hearing, then says Hegseth has led more people than senators on the dais, to applause around the chamber.
People in the room applaud. 
Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent
Early in Pete Hegseth’s Senate confirmation hearings, Democrat Jack Reed of Rhode Island asked the nominee about his support for presidential pardons for US soldiers convicted of war crimes.
It was a reference to a controversial move by Donald Trump in 2019 to wipe away the conviction of US Army Officer Clint Lorance on two counts of second degree murder for ordering members of his platoon to open fire on three unarmed Afghani civilians. Trump also pardoned Mathew Golsteyn, who was awaiting trial on charges of executing an Afghani prisoner.
Hegseth had successfully lobbied for pardons for the two men, who had become cause celebre among many conservatives.
Even if the pardons have been mostly forgotten, the divisions over military policy go on.
For Hegseth, the prosecutions were an example of bureaucrats and lawyers who impeded America’s ability to fight unconventional wars. For Reed and other Hegseth critics, it’s an illustration of the nominees unacceptable support for those who flout rules, engage in wanton cruelty and evade meaningful oversight.
Warren pushes on, asking Hegseth if he'll commit to staying out of the defence industry for 10 years after his potential tenure as defence secretary.
For context: That's a policy both Warren and Hegseth have said they support for generals in the military.
Hegseth won't commit to not going into the private sector, saying: "I'm not a general, senator".
Moments later, as Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville starts speaking, he accidentally calls him "General Hegseth" and laughter breaks out in the room.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren uses her time now to return to the issue of women serving in the military, and quotes Hegseth's own words back to him.
She says his views that women are inferior soldiers and should not serve in combat were expressed consistently over time, and said those statements were without the qualification of meeting certain standards.
She says there was a 32-day gap between him last expressing those views publicly and apparently changing his stance. She asks what happened to change his mind, and suggests it was his desire to become defence secretary once nominated.
Hegseth says this issue has always been about standards.
Warren cuts in, and reads a quote from him saying "women shouldn't be in combat at all", noting there is no caveat about standards there.
Hegseth says his concern is that pursuit of quotas has seen standards changed.
"I've heard of deathbed conversions, but this is the first time I've heard of a nomination conversion ," Warren says, suggesting he could change his mind again.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren is up next. Here's a bit of context before she gets going.
Warren recently wrote a blistering, 33-page letter to Pete Hegseth outlining his shortfalls as a prospective defence secretary.
In it, she stresses her "serious concerns" about his qualifications to serve as the US defence secretary given his "past history".
The history in question, she says, includes mismanagement of two non-profit organisations, accusations of sexual assault and drinking problems, allegations which have come up several times today.
In listing her concerns, Warren also highlights what she calls Hegseth's "blatant disregard for the contributions of female servicemembers, support for war crimes and torture, threats to politicise the military, advocating for ‘war’ against political enemies, threats to undermine DoD [Department of Defence] readiness and diversity, and contempt for veterans receiving benefits they earned".
We'll bring you the key lines from her questioning soon, stay with us.
Hegseth will be tasked with some three million people if his role as defence secretary in confirmed.
He admits now that he hasn't done something similar before.
"I know what I don't know," he says, adding that he's willing to learn and emphasises his leadership experience.
"I've led people," he reiterates.
Hegseth says he will have good people around him and will hold them accountable.
Hegseth is pressed by Democrat Senator Angus King on his stance on the Geneva Convention.
He says "we follow rules" but "we don't need burdensome rules of engagement that make it impossible for us to win these wars".
Explaining his stance, Hegseth says certain rules make it difficult to do your job in the battlefield.
He's quoted an excerpt from his own book, where he says the US should make its own rules.
Hegseth says the applications of the Geneva Convention are "incredibly important" but the way wars are fought now compared to how they were fought when the law was written are different.
Asked if waterboarding and torture "are okay", Hegseth says "that's not what I said", adding that he condemns torture.
"The law of the land is that waterboarding is not legal," he adds.
Vice-President-elect JD Vance just posted on X calling the "grandstanding from Senate Democrats" during Hegseth's hearing "perplexing".
"We haven't won a war in three decades and we have a major recruitment challenge," he writes.
"Hegseth is assuredly NOT more of the same, and that's good!" he adds.
One issue that has now been raised by two Democratic senators is the allegation that Hegseth has a history of heavy drinking.
We'll continue to bring you updates on that, and you can read some background on the allegations about his drinking here.
This video can not be played
Senator Tim Kaine attacks Hegseth on allegations
Democratic Senator Tim Kaine really presses Hegseth on his personal life, repeatedly asking about his extramarital affair with his third wife.
Hegseth keeps referring to the sexual assault allegations, saying he was "completely cleared".
The senator says he has an "astonishing lack of judgment". He asks about the oath he took to be faithful to his wife and the oath he would take if he was confirmed. Hegseth again references redemption and his Christian faith.
Kaine brings up that Hegseth had said he was blackmailed in reference to the sexual assault allegation but did not reveal it to the future commander-in-chief of the transition team.
"Are there any other important facts you chose not to reveal?"
Hegseth says he is an open book.
Republican Senator Dan Sullivan uses his time to ask about what he calls the Biden "woke" military.
He says no one wants a racist in the military, but claims the Biden administration played up an insulting narrative that the military is full of racists – something the Democratic Party would deny.
Hegseth says the military is one of, if not the least racist institutions in the country, and that being a racist in the military has not been tolerated for a very long time.
Sullivan turns to climate change, and Hegseth says the leadership of the army, navy and air force will be focused on lethality and not climate change.
The senator then turns to transgender surgeries for active duty troops, and asks how the troops would react if Hegseth issued an order saying they are going to rip the Biden "woke yoke off the neck of the military".
Hegseth says the troops would rejoice, adding they want the "woke", "politically correct" and political social justice "stuff" out of the military.
Next, Hirono presses Hegseth on Greenland.
She asks the prospective defence secretary if he would comply with an order by Donald Trump to seize Greenland, a Danish territory, or an order to take over the Panama Canal.
In response, he says he would "never in this public forum" give one way or another what order the president would give him in any context.
"That sounds to me like you would contemplate carrying out such an order to basically invade Greenland and take over the Panama canal," Senator Hirono concludes.
In June 2020, Trump asked the former defence secretary if it was possible to shoot protesters in the legs. Mark Esper, who has called it a "formal question," refused.
Democratic Senator Hirono now asks Hegseth if he would carry out such an order under Trump's new presidency.
Hesgeth describes being in the National Guard during a Black Lives Matter protest but won't say if he would follow an order to shoot protesters in the leg.
Hirono assumes this is a yes and moves on. Her assumptions during the entire questioning lead to laughs from members of the crowd.
© 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.