Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Pentagon, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he paid $50,000 as part of a confidentiality agreement to a woman who alleged he sexually assaulted her,

The Senate advanced the nomination of Pete Hegseth as President Donald Trump's defense secretary Thursday on a largely party-line vote, despite grave objections from Democrats and stirring unease among Republicans over his behavior and qualifications to lead the U.

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

Senators vetting the nomination of Pete Hegseth for defense secretary received an affidavit from a former sister-in-law alleging that the onetime Fox News was abusive to his second wife to the point where she feared for her safety.

Last week, writing about Pete Hegseth’s hearing to be confirmed as secretary of defense, New York Times columnist David Brooks condemned the Senate committee’s Democrats for obsessing over the nominee’s “moral qualifications”—the allegations of alcohol abuse and sexual harassment—rather than his views on national security.