Trump Pentagon voter Pete Hegseth is changing his tune on women in combat

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s embattled nominee for defense secretary, appears to be changing his mind when it comes to women on the battlefield.

The former Fox News host previously said he opposes the use of women in combat roles, claiming their inclusion “hasn’t made us more effective, hasn’t made us more lethal, hasn’t made fighting more complicated.”

But as Hegseth makes the rounds on Capitol Hill, sitting down with key Republican senators whose votes could determine his confirmation to join Trump’s second-term Cabinet, he appears to have reversed his previous position.

“We support all the women serving in our military today, who are doing fantastic work around the world, in our Pentagon, delivering critical aspects, all aspects, including combat, and have done so for quite some time,” Hegseth told reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. “That’s why I look forward to providing leadership for every single member of this Pentagon, men and women.”

“It’s not 1948”:Defense Secretary Austin defends the role of women in combat and attacks Hegseth

Hegseth’s comments came after he said on Fox News earlier this week that women are “some of our greatest warriors.”

“I’m not assuming anything, but after President Trump asked me to be his Secretary of Defense, I look forward to being an amazing secretary for all of our warriors, men and women, should I get the opportunity.” Posts that they do in our military,” said Hegseth on Monday evening.

The shift comes as Hegseth met with Republican Sens. Joni Ernst of Iowa, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. All three women are seen as potential holdouts for his nomination in a chamber where Republicans will soon have a 53-47 majority, with little room left to lose others within the GOP.

After a second meeting with Hegseth on Monday, Ernst issued a statement saying she would “support Pete in this process,” but has since declined to elaborate on whether that also means she will vote for his nomination .

Hegseth also met privately with Collins for more than an hour on Wednesday. Afterward, Collins said she asked him “virtually every question under the sun,” ABC News reported, but added she was waiting to make her decision until an FBI background check on Hegseth was completed.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Hegseth said he would “welcome this background check,” adding that his meetings with senators had produced “great feedback and great discussions.”

More:Just ten years ago, women were excluded from combat. Now they are at the forefront and climbing the ranks.

In addition to his previous comments about women in combat, Hegseth faces a variety of allegations of misconduct, from a sexual assault charge in 2017 – which he has denied and for which no corresponding charges have been filed – to allegations of mismanagement charitable funds and alcohol consumption the job.

The Pentagon opened all combat roles to women in 2016. Previously, women had performed combat missions, including flying aircraft in war zones and other tasks. The move in 2016 allowed qualified women to serve in other combat arms branches such as armor and infantry.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat and Armed Services Committee member who lost her legs while flying a Black Hawk helicopter in Iraq, said Hegseth’s comments about women in combat disqualify him from being defense secretary.

“He is not the right man to lead the Defense Department,” Duckworth said in an interview. “If you look at his statements from a month ago, it shows that. Without women, our military couldn’t go into battle. Period. Without the 225,000 women serving in uniform today, we would not be a combat-ready force.”

Hegseth was among several of the president-elect’s Cabinet members who roamed the halls of Capitol Hill this week in an effort to secure support from senators ahead of confirmation hearings early next year.

On his way to a meeting Wednesday afternoon with Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Hegseth passed his fellow candidate, former congresswoman and Democrat-turned-Republican Tulsi Gabbard, in the hallway.

Gabbard, who was named director of national intelligence, hugged Hegseth and his wife, Jennifer Rauchet, before asking how he was doing.

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