Elizabeth Warren has 70 questions for Pete Hegseth ahead of his confirmation hearing, and she wants answers

Mustering the same energy as a child who just learned the word “why?”, Elizabeth Warren has an extensive list of questions ahead of Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing. 

As a refresher, Hegseth’s candidacy for the role of Secretary of Defense, nominated by president-elect Donald Trump, has been shrouded in doubt, following an onslaught of questions and controversy surrounding alleged sexual misconduct and alcohol abuse. Now, a week before Hegseth is set to face the Senate for his confirmation in the high-ranking role, Warren has resurfaced these questions in the form of a letter sent to the former Fox News presenter. 

The 33-page letter, according to The Washington Post, contains a list of over 70 questions posed by Warren and pertaining to various controversies levelled against Hegseth. It highlights ten areas of concern, mostly relating to allegations around Hegseth’s alleged heavy alcohol use, and past sexual misconduct, as well as his remarks about female troops, alleged support for war crimes, and threats to politicize the military. “I am deeply concerned by the many ways in which your behavior and rhetoric indicates that you are unfit to lead the Department of Defense,” Warren wrote in the letter. 

“Your confirmation as Secretary of Defense would be detrimental to our national security and disrespect a diverse array of service members who are willing to sacrifice for our country.” Expanding on her letter on social media, Warren confirmed that she “sent [Hegseth] over 70 questions to get some answers before his confirmation hearing,” while outlining her concerns about a litany of issues relating to the Defense Secretary nominee. She also requested that Hegseth provide a written reply to her questions by Jan. 10, adding to the already mountainous list of controversies currently swirling around him. 

Since being nominated by Trump just days after his election win, Hegseth has faced accusations of sexual misconduct dating back to 2017, as well as questions around his alcohol consumption during his time at Fox News. Hegseth’s past comments about Muslims, as well as his thoughts on women in the military, also surfaced following his nomination. Then, last month, The New York Times published a 2018 letter sent to Hegseth by his mother, Penelope, in which she said she has “no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego.” 

Penelope later backtracked on that letter in defence of her son, amid reports that Trump was looking to replace Hegseth as the nominee with Ron DeSantis. Even as his hopes of becoming the leader of the Pentagon seemed to be derailed by these controversies — which later included a resurfaced video in which he criticized Trump — the president-elect has continued to defend his choice. “Pete Hegesth is doing very well,” Trump wrote on social media last month, “Pete is a WINNER.” 

Hegseth isn’t the only one whose candidacy for the second Trump administration has been drowned in controversy, nor is he the only one who has caught the ire of Warren. Matt Gaetz — whom Warren said was “affirmatively disqualified” — was forced to withdraw as the Trump-elected attorney general nominee, amid the House Ethics investigation into his deeply questionable interactions with underage girls. With so many contentious names nominated for Trump’s cabinet, Hegseth makes dog terminator Kristi Noem look like an angel.