Mazie Hirono Takes Pete Hegseth Through Lightning Round of Sex and Booze Questions: ‘Will You Resign’ If You ‘Drink on the Job?’

Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) took Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Defense, through a lightning round of questions about sexual misconduct and alcohol abuse during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday.

“As part of my responsibility as a member of this committee to ensure the fitness of all nominees who come before any of the committees on which I sit, I ask the following two initial questions,” began Hirono. “First, since you became a legal adult, have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors or committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature?”

“No Senator,” replied Hegseth.

Here’s how the conversation proceeded from there:

HIRONO: Have you ever faced discipline or entered into a settlement relating to this kind of conduct?

HEGSETH: Senator, I was falsely accused in October of 2017. It was fully investigated and I was completely cleared.

HIRONO: I don’t think completely cleared is accurate. But the fact is that your own lawyer said that you entered into an NDA and paid a person who accused you of raping her a sum of money to make sure that she did not file a complaint.

Moving on, as secretary, you will be in charge of maintaining good order and discipline by enforcing the Uniform Code of Military Justice, UCMJ. In addition to the sexual assault allegations, and by the way, the answer to my second question should have been yes. I have read multiple reports of your regularly being drunk at work, including by people who worked with you at Fox News. Do you know that being drunk at work is prohibited for service members under the UCMJ?

HEGSETH: Senator those are-

HIRONO: Yes or no?

HEGSETH: …multiple, false, anonymous reports peddled by NBC News-

HIRONO: Do you know that drinking on the job is-

HEGSETH: …and run directly contradictory to the dozens of men and women at Fox News Channel-

HIRONO: I’m not hearing, I’m not hearing the answer to my question.

HEGSETH: …who I worked with, who came on the record, and said they’d never seen that.

HIRONO: In your opening statement, Mr. Hegseth, you commit to holding leaders accountable at all levels. That includes you, of course. And frankly, as secretary, you will be on the job 24/7. You recently promised some of my Republican colleagues that you stopped drinking and won’t drink if confirmed, correct?

HEGSETH: Absolutely.

HIRONO: Will you resign as secretary of defense if you drink on the job, which is a 24/7 position?

HEGSETH: I’ve made this commitment on behalf of the men and women that I’m serving.

HIRONO: Will you resign as secretary of defense if you drink on the job?

HEGSETH: I’ve made this commitment on behalf of the men and women I’m serving, because it’s the most important deployment of my life.

HIRONO: I’m not hearing an answer to my question, so I’m going to move on. While you have made that commitment, you will not commit to resigning if you drink on the job.

Watch above via CNN.