A Democrat member of the Senate Foreign Relation Committee told Newsmax on Wednesday that management of the Defense Department's enormous budget "gravely" concerns him about Pete Hegseth becoming Pentagon chief.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told Newsmax's Kilmeny Duchardt that he's not impressed by the Defense secretary nominee's past experience of overseeing veterans' organizations.
"The U.S. Department of Defense is the largest and most complicated federal agency," Coons told Duchardt in an exclusive interview at the Capitol. "There are millions of men and women who serve in our armed forces at home and abroad. It spends north of $850 billion a year. My core concern with the nomination of Pete Hegseth is he has never run anything like it, and the two small veterans-related organizations that he ran, he did not run particularly successfully.
"There are of course questions about his character, his conduct, and I think both of these should be gravely concerning to members who are considering voting for him."
The Senate Armed Services Committee on Monday advanced Hegseth's bid to become President Donald Trump's defense secretary, sending his nomination to the Senate floor over the objections of Democrats, Stars and Stripes reported.
The Senate is poised to hold a final vote on Hegseth's nomination for defense secretary by the end of the week, The Hill reported.
Senate Republicans are moving ahead despite an affidavit from his former sister-in-law obtained by Senate Democrats that accuses him of having an alcohol problem and being abusive to his ex-wife, Samantha Hegseth.
Samantha Hegseth issued a statement to NBC News denying there was "physical abuse" in their marriage.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., a member of the Armed Services Committee, warned Democrats that delay tactics over Trump's nominees will not be tolerated.
"My message to obstructionist Democrats: Don't make plans this weekend. We're going to get President Trump's nominees confirmed the easy collegial way, or apparently the hard way," Cotton posted Tuesday night on X.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.