从皮特·赫格塞斯激烈的确认听证会中可以了解到什么
【中美创新时报2025 年 1 月 14 日编译讯】（记者温友平编译）当选总统唐纳德·特朗普选择的国防部长首次公开面对参议员，此前数周民主党人质疑他的“非传统”履历，共和党人称赞他。美联社记者MARY CLARE JALONICK 和 LOLITA BALDOR对此作了下述报道。
皮特·赫格塞斯（Pete Hegseth ）曾是一名战斗老兵和电视新闻节目主持人，他表示，他将成为国防部的“变革推动者”和“战士”，因为共和党人要求五角大楼有新的强大领导层。民主党人表示，赫格塞斯缺乏经验，过去对女性和黑人士兵的言论以及酗酒和性行为不端的指控使他不适合服役。
参议院军事委员会主席、密西西比州共和党参议员罗杰·威克称，赫格塞斯被提名领导国防部“非常规”，但将他与特朗普进行了比较，并表示这可能正是他成为“绝佳人选”的原因。
参议院军事委员会的民主党领袖、罗德岛州参议员杰克·里德表示，赫格塞斯缺乏领导五角大楼的“性格和能力”。里德投票确认了包括特朗普第一任期在内的九位前国防部长，但不会支持赫格塞斯。
里德说，他的确认将是“对宣誓履行自己对宪法的非政治义务的男男女女的侮辱”。
以下是赫格塞斯确认听证会的一些要点：
Hegseth 和参议员 Elizabeth Warren 之间的交流引得观众大笑
民主党人 Warren 问 Hegseth，如果他成为国防部长，他是否会承诺在服役后十年内不在国防工业工作。Hegseth 说他没有考虑过这个问题。
“你很确定每个服役的将军都不应该直接进入国防工业工作十年，但你不愿意做出同样的承诺？” Warren 问道。
“我不是将军，参议员，”Hegseth 回答道。
Hegseth 和 Warren 都表示，将军和其他高级官员在军队服役后至少十年内不应被允许为私人国防承包商工作。
五角大楼的“战士文化”
赫格塞斯告诉参议员，特朗普给他的主要任务是“将战士文化带回国防部”，并且“他希望五角大楼专注于作战、杀伤力、精英管理、标准和战备。就是这样。这是我的工作。”
共和党人批评拜登总统的五角大楼鼓励多元化，并表示军队中没有“觉醒”文化的空间。
里德说，他希望赫格塞斯解释为什么多元化会使军队变得软弱，以及“你打算如何在不破坏军事领导和损害战备、招募和留用的情况下‘消除’这种影响。”
“我们的军队比以往任何时候都更加多元化，但更重要的是，它比以往任何时候都更具杀伤力，”里德说。“这不是巧合。”
赫格塞斯回答说，“军队是勇敢的种族融合的先驱，这是完全正确的，其他机构都不愿意这样做”，但他辩称，现代多元化和包容性政策“分裂”了现有部队，没有优先考虑“精英统治”。
一位“靴子上沾满灰尘”的部长
共和党人称赞赫格塞斯缺乏高级领导角色。“是时候让一个靴子上沾满灰尘的人掌舵了，”他说。
赫格塞斯并不是第一位参加过战斗的国防部长——远非如此。许多前任国防部长都曾参加过战斗，躲避炸弹并率领部队参战，包括现任国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀，他是首次入侵伊拉克的领导者。
特朗普的第一任国防部长吉姆·马蒂斯中校参加过海湾战争，后来以四星上将的身份退役。特朗普的最后一任代理五角大楼负责人克里斯·米勒曾多次作为陆军特种部队军官在伊拉克和阿富汗服役。他后来以上校身份退役。
曾在前总统巴拉克·奥巴马手下服役的查克·哈格尔是第一位担任国防部长的退役士兵，他在越南前线担任过中士。
女兵的“平等标准”
赫格塞斯向女性和黑人士兵示好，试图平息一些对他之前言论的批评，即女性不应该“直接”参加战斗，以及他暗示一些黑人士兵可能不合格。
“如果得到确认，成为所有男女军人的国防部长将是一生的荣幸，”赫格塞斯说。
与此同时，他暗示五角大楼已经降低了女性参战的标准，但没有给出这些标准的例子。“标准需要相同，而且需要很高，”赫格塞斯说，并补充说，如果这些标准被削弱以满足多样性配额，则应该进行审查。
纽约州民主党参议员克尔斯滕·吉利布兰德告诉赫格塞斯，他对女性的言论“很糟糕”，有损士气。
“你必须改变你对女性的看法，才能做好这项工作，”她说。
针对赫格塞斯的反复评论，一位高级国防官员表示，“军队服役的标准没有降低”，标准是基于每个领域和能力，而不是性别。
“背景调查不足”
里德在听证会开始时告诉威克，他认为联邦调查局的背景调查联邦调查局对赫格塞斯的背景调查“不够充分”。
“联邦调查局仍有义务与人们交谈，”里德说。
据一位不愿透露姓名的知情人士透露，背景调查并没有调查或产生有关赫格塞斯的公开信息以外的新信息。
康涅狄格州民主党参议员理查德·布卢门撒尔询问赫格塞斯是否愿意接受扩大的背景调查，采访前同事、前妻、“性侵犯幸存者和其他人”。
“我不负责联邦调查局的背景调查，”赫格塞斯说。
“我不是完美的人”
赫格塞斯没有直接回应性行为不端的指控，并积极反驳提出质疑的民主党人，称其为“有组织的抹黑运动”。
“我不是一个完美的人，但救赎是真实的，”赫格塞斯说。
根据最近公布的一份详细调查报告，2017 年，一名女性告诉警方，赫格塞斯对她实施了性侵犯。赫格塞斯否认有任何不当行为，并当时告诉警方，在加州共和党女性活动上的性侵是双方自愿的。他没有受到指控，但向该女子支付了一笔保密和解金，以避免可能的诉讼。
当夏威夷州民主党参议员 Mazie Hirono 询问他是否达成和解时，赫格塞斯回答说他受到了诬告。他一再表示自己“完全洗清了罪名”。
希罗诺还询问了他关于酗酒的报道，他也否认了这一说法。赫格塞斯在过去一个月的会议上告诉共和党参议员，他不会在工作中喝酒。
共和党驳斥了这些指控。俄克拉荷马州共和党参议员马克韦恩·穆林指出，民主党参议员曾询问赫格塞斯有关他喝酒的问题，并问道：“有多少参议员晚上喝醉了去投票？”
“别告诉我你没见过，因为我知道你见过，”穆林对他的同事说。
美联社记者马特·布朗、塔拉·科普和丽莎·马斯卡罗对本文亦有贡献。
附原英文报道：
What to know from Pete Hegseth’s fiery confirmation hearing
By MARY CLARE JALONICK and LOLITA BALDOR The Associated Press,Updated January 14, 2025
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to be Defense secretary, appears before the Senate Armed Services Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Defense secretary is publicly facing senators for the first time after weeks of questions from Democrats — and praise from Republicans — about his “unconventional” resume.
Pete Hegseth, a former combat veteran and TV news show host, says he will be a “change agent” and a “warrior” for the department as Republicans demand new and strong leadership in the Pentagon. Democrats say Hegseth’s lack of experience, his past comments about women and Black troops and allegations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct, make him unfit to serve.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., called Hegseth’s nomination to lead the Defense Department “unconventional” but compared him to Trump, and said that may just be what makes him an “excellent choice.”
Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Hegseth lacks “the character and the competence” to lead the Pentagon. Reed he has voted to confirm the nine previous Defense secretaries, including in Trump’s first term, but will not support Hegseth.
His confirmation would be an “an insult to the men and women who have sworn to uphold their own apolitical duty to the Constitution,” Reed said.
Here are some takeaways from Hegseth’s confirmation hearing:
An exchange between Hegseth and Senator Elizabeth Warren drew laughter from the audience
Warren, a Democrat, asked Hegseth whether he’d commit to not serving in the defense industry for ten years after his service should he become defense secretary. Hegseth said he had not given the issue any thought.
“You are quite sure every general who serves should not go directly into the defense industry for 10 years but you’re not willing to make that same pledge?” Warren asked.
“I’m not a general, senator,” Hegseth replied.
Both Hegseth and Warren have said generals and other high-ranking officials should not be allowed to work for private defense contractors for at least a decade after their service in the armed forces.
A ‘warrior culture’ at the Pentagon
Hegseth told senators that Trump’s primary charge to him was “to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense” and that “he wants a Pentagon laser focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness. That’s it. That is my job.”
Republicans have criticized President Joe Biden’s Pentagon for encouraging diversity and say there is no place for “woke” culture in the military.
Reed said he wants Hegseth to explain why diversity makes the military weak and “how you propose to ‘undo’ that without undermining military leadership and harming readiness, recruitment, and retention.”
“Our military is more diverse than it has ever been, but more importantly, it is more lethal than it has ever been,” Reed said. “This is not a coincidence.”
Hegseth replied that it was “precisely right the military was a forerunner in courageous racial integration in ways no other institutions were willing to do” but argued that modern diversity and inclusion policies “divide” current troops and didn’t prioritize “meritocracy.”
A secretary with ‘dust on his boots’
Republicans have praised Hegseth’s lack of a high-level leadership role. “It’s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm,” he said.
Hegseth would not be the first defense secretary to have served in combat — far from it. An array of previous secretaries have had combat service, dodging bombs and leading troops into the fight, including current Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who was a leader in the initial invasion into Iraq.
Lt. Col. Jim Mattis, Trump’s first Defense secretary, fought in the Gulf War and later retired as a four-star general. And Trump’s final acting Pentagon chief, Chris Miller, served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as an Army special forces officer. He later retired as a colonel.
Chuck Hagel, who served under former President Barack Obama, was first former enlisted soldier to become Defense secretary, and he served as a sergeant on the front lines in Vietnam.
‘Equal standards’ for female troops
Hegseth made overtures to women and Black troops, an attempt to blunt some of the criticism of his previous comments that women should “straight up” not serve in combat and his suggestions that some Black troops may not be qualified.
“It would be the privilege of a lifetime, if confirmed, to be the secretary of defense for all men and women in uniform,” Hegseth said.
At the same time, he implied that the Pentagon has lowered standards for women to fight without giving examples of those standards. “The standards need to be the same and they need to be high,” Hegseth said, adding that where those standards have been eroded to meet diversity quotas, that should be under review.
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat, told Hegseth that his quotes about women are “terrible” and harmful to morale.
“You will have to change how you see women to do this job,” she said.
In response to Hegseth’s repeated comments, a senior defense official said that “the standards for military service have not been lowered,” and that the standards are based on each field and based on ability, not gender.
‘Insufficient’ background check
Reed told Wicker at the beginning of the hearing that he believes the FBI background check on Hegseth was “insufficient.”
“There are still FBI obligations to talk to people,” Reed said.
The background check did not probe or produce new information beyond what’s already in the public realm about Hegseth, according to a person familiar with the situation who insisted on anonymity to discuss it.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked Hegseth if he’d be willing to submit to an expanded background check with interviews of former colleagues, ex-wives, “sexual assault survivors and others.”
“I’m not in charge of FBI background checks,” Hegseth said.
‘I’m not a perfect person’
Hegseth did not directly address the allegations of sexual misconduct and aggressively pushed back on Democrats who asked questions about it, calling it a “coordinated smear campaign.”
“I’m not a perfect person but redemption is real,” Hegseth said.
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 was not charged, but paid the woman a confidential settlement to head off a potential lawsuit.
Asked by Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Democrat, if he had entered into a settlement, Hegseth replied that he was falsely accused. He has said repeatedly that he was “completely cleared.”
Hirono also asked him about reports of excessive drinking, which he has also denied. Hegseth has told Republican senators in meetings over the last month that he will not drink on the job.
Republicans dismissed the allegations. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., noted that Democratic senators had asked Hegseth questions about his drinking, and asked “How many senators have showed up drunk to vote at night?”
“Don’t tell me you haven’t seen it, because I know you have,” Mullin said to his colleagues.
Associated Press writers Matt Brown, Tara Copp and and Lisa Mascaro contributed reporting.
