Pete Hegseth has dismissed the role of women in the military in past interviews and in his own writing. “I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles,” Hegseth said during a November appearance on “The Shawn Ryan Show” podcast.

As author of several books and a former Fox News Channel host, Hegseth has been forced to defend himself against a long record of his own public comments, including in his most recent book, “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.”

Pete Hegseth’s views on women in combat were a matter of public record long before the Senate Armed Services Committee heard his case to become Donald Trump’s Defense secretary. Women are “life-givers,

Amid Republican claims of “anonymous smears,” a named person — and a Hegseth, at that — accuses the defense secretary nominee of abusive behavior.

Senators have received an affidavit from the former sister-in-law of Pete Hegseth, President Trump's nominee to serve as secretary of defense, that says his behavior caused his second wife to fear for her safety.