Laurenz Busch Chronicle Staff Writer
Jan 15, 2025
Sen. Tim Sheehy kept things relatively simple while eliciting laughter during an otherwise contentious confirmation hearing of Department of Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth on Tuesday, as the newly elected senator leaned on his campaign stump material.
Sheehy, a newly minted member of the U.S. Senate’s Armed Services Committee, made his debut amid an onslaught of confirmation hearings to come, using his time to voice his priority for ensuring that American “warfighters” are supported.
“How many genders are there? Tough one,” Sheehy asked Hegseth, kicking off his round of questioning.
“Uh, senator, there are two genders,” the nominee responded.
“I know that well. I’m a Sheehy, so I’m on board,” he said, spinning his last name as he had numerous times to introduce himself on the campaign trail.
“How many push-ups can you do?” Sheehy asked.
“I did five sets of 47 this morning,” Hegseth responded.
“And what size round does the M9 Beretta standard issue sidearm for the military fire?” Sheehy asked, giving away the answer.
“A 9mm, senator,” Hegseth answered.
The conversation included which strategic base in the Pacific Ocean the nominee deems vital (Guam), caliber sizes for the M4 carbine rifle, and wrapped up with Sheehy asking what kind of batteries are used in military night-vision goggles.
“Duracell,” Hegseth said, sounding slightly unsure.
“Right there, you’re representing qualifications that show you understand what the warfighter deals with every single day on the battlefield,” Sheehy said.
Instead of joining the ranks of other Democrats and Republicans on the committee who questioned Hegseth over sexual assault allegations, drinking habits, infidelity, and how he’ll manage to alter the Pentagon’s inability to pass an audit, Sheehy used his time to reiterate his support.
Hegseth repeatedly denied misconduct allegations.
In December, Sheehy took to the social media app X (Twitter), writing that Hegseth would “make a great Secretary of Defense, and he has my support 100 percent.”
And on Wednesday, in a statement to the Chronicle, he said Hegseth “understands what actually happens on the frontlines and the solemn duty of our government to take care of our men and women in uniform,” prioritizing “warfighters,” “combat lethality,” and “the warrior ethos,” while working with President-elect Trump to “rebuild the military”.
Toward the end of Sheehy’s time with Hegseth, Montana’s newest senator dipped into at least one complicated issue for the nominee, asking how he’d go about the “decades-long pursuit” of structuring the U.S. Navy to protect freedom of navigation.
Hegseth answered that the U.S. needs to prioritize shipbuilding for the Navy — something Trump told him he agrees with — and that improving workforce availability in shipyards and advancing innovative technology such as unmanned underwater vehicles needs to be prioritized.
In the end, however, after almost 4 1/2 hours of questioning, and likely with his mind already made up, Sheehy provided Hegseth a break from an otherwise contentious line of questioning by committee members, connecting with the nominee over his own perceived treatment by the media and praising Hegseth’s support for American “warfighters.”
“I don’t care, frankly, what all these letters and articles say, I’ve been part of a smear campaign too. I get it,” Sheehy said. “I care that you’re going to have one thing in mind when you sit in that chair in that five-sided building.”