President-elect Donald Trump's choice for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, vowed Tuesday to foster a 맥스카지노�warrior culture맥스카지노� at the Pentagon and confronted allegations of his misconduct during a testy Senate confirmation hearing that drew protesters but also veterans in support.Watch a livestream of the confirmation hearing in the video player above.Hegesth did not initially address the allegations of sexual assault, excessive drinking or his derisive views on women in combat and minorities, as senators determine whether the veteran and TV news show host is fit to lead the U.S. military. Instead, he focused on his combat experience in the Army National Guard.맥스카지노�It맥스카지노�s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm. A change agent,맥스카지노� Hegseth said in his opening remarks.Asked directly about the sexual assault allegation against him, Hegseth dismissed it as a 맥스카지노�smear campaign.맥스카지노� But pressed about his personal behavior and marital infidelity Hegseth acknowledged, 맥스카지노�I am not a perfect person.맥스카지노�Senators spent hours drilling down on the questions surrounding Hegseth, with the Republican chairman of the Armed Services Committee acknowledging the 맥스카지노�unconventional맥스카지노� choice and the top Democrat warning of 맥스카지노�extremely alarming맥스카지노� allegations against him.Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the chairman, compared Hegseth to Trump himself, dismissed the various allegations against him as unfounded and said he will 맥스카지노�bring energy and fresh ideas to shake up the bureaucracy.맥스카지노�Video below: Hegseth emphasizes warfighting in opening remarksBut Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. said flatly: 맥스카지노�I do not believe that you are qualified to meet the overwhelming demands of this job.맥스카지노�Hegseth, 44, comes from a new generation of veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and his military experience is widely viewed as an asset. But he also brings a jarring record of past actions and statements, including about women, minorities and 맥스카지노�woke맥스카지노� generals. He has vowed not to drink alcohol if he is confirmed to lead the Pentagon.Trump backed his pick, saying Hegseth has 맥스카지노�my Complete and Total support맥스카지노� in a morning post.The hearing launched a weeklong marathon as senators begin scrutinizing Trump맥스카지노�s picks for more than a dozen top administrative positions.Hegseth faces perhaps the most difficult path to confirmation, but GOP allies are determined to turn him into a cause célèbre for Trump맥스카지노�s governing approach amid the nation맥스카지노�s culture wars. Outside groups, including those aligned with the Heritage Foundation, are running costly campaigns to prop up Hegseth맥스카지노�s bid.In the audience were cadres of men wearing clothing expressing support for veterans or service in the military, but also protesters who momentarily disrupted proceedings but were removed from the room.Hegseth was combative at times, forced to confront allegations of sexual assault, which he has denied, and his own comments that are far from the military mainstream. He wore an American flag pocket square in his suitcoat, and said his military experience was not academic but his life.Pressed on his opposition to diversity initiatives in the military and women serving in combat roles, Hegseth agreed that the military 맥스카지노�was a forerunner in courageous racial integration.맥스카지노� But he argued that modern diversity and inclusion policies 맥스카지노�divide맥스카지노� current troops and don't prioritize 맥스카지노�meritocracy.맥스카지노�Hegseth was grilled over his comments that women should 맥스카지노�straight up맥스카지노� not be in combat roles, a view he has softened following recent meetings with senators.Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., noted the switch. 맥스카지노�Which is it?맥스카지노�In one fiery exchange, Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, D-N.Y., told Hegseth: 맥스카지노�You will have to change how you see women to do this job.맥스카지노�But Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, a military veteran and sexual assault survivor, was far less combative as Hegseth told her it would be a 맥스카지노�privilege of a lifetime" to serve the men, and women, in uniform.Many senators have not yet met with Hegseth and most do not have access to his FBI background check, as only committee leaders were briefed on its findings. Reed said the background check was 맥스카지노�insufficient.맥스카지노� It did not probe or produce new information beyond what's already in the public realm about him, according to a person familiar with the situation who insisted on anonymity to discuss it.In many ways, the Hegseth hearing was following the template set during Trump맥스카지노�s first term, when one of his choices for Supreme Court justice, Brett Kavanaugh, came under intense scrutiny over allegations of sexual assault but turned the tables on his critics and recouped to win confirmation to the high court.맥스카지노�He will be ripped. He will be demeaned. He will be talked about,맥스카지노� said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., at an event with former Navy SEALs, Army special forces and Marines supporting the nominee. 맥스카지노�But we맥스카지노�re going to get him across the finish line.맥스카지노�The Republican-led Senate is rushing to have some of Trump맥스카지노�s picks ready to be confirmed as soon as Inauguration Day, Jan. 20. With a narrow GOP majority, almost all Republicans must support Trump맥스카지노�s pick if Democrats oppose.Hegseth was largely unknown on Capitol Hill when Trump tapped him for the top Pentagon job.A co-host of Fox News Channel맥스카지노�s 맥스카지노�Fox & Friends Weekend,맥스카지노� he had been a contributor with the network since 2014 and apparently caught the eye of the president-elect, who is an avid consumer of television and the news channel, in particular.Hegseth attended Princeton University and served in the Army National Guard from 2002 to 2021, deploying to Iraq in 2005 and Afghanistan in 2011 and earning two Bronze Stars. But he lacks senior military and national security experience.In 2017, a woman told police that Hegseth sexually assaulted her, according to a detailed investigative report recently made public. Hegseth has denied any wrongdoing and told police at the time that the encounter at a Republican women's event in California was consensual. He later paid the woman a confidential settlement to head off a potential lawsuit.North Dakota Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer asked about Hegseth맥스카지노�s tattoos, which have come under question for their association with white nationalist groups. However, Cramer did not focus on the 맥스카지노�Deus Vult맥스카지노� tattoo that got Hegseth flagged as a potential 맥스카지노�insider threat.맥스카지노�Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., questioned his lack of management experience, saying he has 맥스카지노�real problems맥스카지노� with Hegseth's ability to take on a large organization like the military.And Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii ,asked Hegseth if he맥스카지노�d follow orders from Trump to shoot protesters, invade Greenland, which is controlled by NATO-ally Denmark, or occupy the Panama Canal, to which Hegseth cited a need for strategic ambiguity in declining to fully answer.If confirmed, Hegseth would take over a military juggling an array of crises on the global stage and domestic challenges in military recruitment, retention and ongoing funding.Besides being a key national security adviser to the president, the defense secretary oversees a massive organization, with nearly 2.1 million service members, about 780,000 civilians and a budget of roughly $850 billion.The secretary is responsible for tens of thousands of U.S. troops deployed overseas and at sea, including in combat zones where they face attacks, such as in Syria and Iraq and in the waters around Yemen. The secretary makes all final recommendations to the president on what units are deployed, where they go and how long they stay.The secretary's main job is to make sure the U.S. military is ready, trained and equipped to meet any call to duty. But the secretary also must ensure that American troops are safe and secure at home, with proper housing, health care, pay and support for programs dealing with suicide, sexual assault and financial scams.Pentagon chiefs also routinely travel across the world, meeting with international leaders on a vast range of security issues including U.S. military aid, counterterrorism support, troop presence and global coalition building. And they play a key role at NATO as a critical partner to allies across the region.