Today, I was in Washington, DC, to attend the Senate confirmation hearing of Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, and I wanted to give you my overall thoughts on what went down.
The spark notes: No one laid a glove on him, and I have zero doubts now that he will be confirmed.
The Hearing
Hegseth sat before the Senate Armed Services Committee today, and they will hold the first vote on whether his nomination proceeds to the full Senate for a vote. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) was the big question mark in the committee, and I just don’t think that she is a ‘no’ after hearing what she had to say. She was very respectful in her questioning of him.
Even if Hegseth is going to lose Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and/or Susan Collins (R-ME) in the full Senate vote – which reports are now saying he might not – Ernst was the pivotal piece. I don’t think anybody touched him today, and I think he is going to get confirmed.
Why Megyn Went
I have never gone to a Senate confirmation hearing as a regular person as opposed to as a member of the press. I went because the Hegseths invited me and I thought it would be a great experience for me for a couple of reasons.
Number one, I do support Pete Hegseth, and I am very happy to telegraph to the world that I hope he gets through the confirmation process. If sitting in the gallery in any way telegraphed to the people who needed to be telegraphed to that it would be a good thing to support him and that I think the allegations against him are bullsh-t, great.
Number two, I thought it would be a fascinating experience for me after having been on the other side so many times – not as a senator but as a member of the media. I have covered these things for years, but I wanted to see what it is like to be in the middle of it all.
My takeaway is that it is very, very boring to sit there from 9:30am straight through until 2pm with no breaks. Some senators kept it kind of exciting. The Republicans actually asked Pete questions that would help us get to know him a bit. But many of the Democrat senators just wanted to hear themselves talk. They grandstanded and that was annoying.
Dems Embarrass Themselves
To me, the story of the day was how some of these Democrat senators embarrassed themselves. I was humiliated for them. Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine was the most disgusting, but he wasn’t a hysteric like so many of his female colleagues.
Why do the women have to be these hysterical fools? Why can’t they be more dignified? I was embarrassed for my sex and how they were behaving today. Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono came across so dumb that I can’t believe she is a U.S. senator.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) was shrill and just kept talking about how Hegseth was “mean” and hurt women’s feelings by saying the standards shouldn’t be lowered for them to be in combat. Little did she know that she was undermining the very cause that I know she so desperately wanted to promote.
And then there was Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who is the newest Democrat in the chamber. While her background sounded impressive (she has been with the CIA and so on), she was so annoying.
There is a way of doing cross-examination where you don’t wind up being the least likable person in the exchange, but it was obvious most of these people don’t have much experience. You can tell the difference when you see someone like former federal prosecutor and Congressman Trey Gowdy conduct a cross examination. You walk away thinking, He’s the man. That guy knows what he’s doing.
When these people try to do it, you end up thinking, Are you trying to make me hate you? I am not inclined to hate you just because you are a Democrat or against Pete Hegseth, but you are behaving like a prick.
What Comes Next?
So, did we really learn anything today? Or was it all just like an exercise in preening on the Dem side and Republicans, in earnest, trying to search for some answers on what Pete Hegseth would do inside the Defense Department that would be different? I don’t know. But I think Pete Hegseth did his job, and I think he is getting through the Senate.
One top Democrat senator told me he thought this was going to be the toughest hearing of all of Donald Trump’s nominees – worse than Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., for secretary of Health and Human Services or Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence. We will see if that is true, but Trump should be feeling great right now because my prediction is Pete Hegseth will have no problems.
You can check out Megyn’s full analysis by tuning in to episode 982 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.