{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-senators-question-hegseth-nomination-his-disqualifying-views-on-women-in-the-military-allegations-of-sexual-assault", "Warren, Senators Question Hegseth Nomination, His Disqualifying Views on Women in the Military, Allegations of Sexual Assault", "2024-12-17", "2024", "2024-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "MA", "Elizabeth Warren", "W000817", "www.warren.senate.gov", "warren", "https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Warren, Senators Question Hegseth Nomination, His Disqualifying Views on Women in the Military, Allegations of Sexual Assault\n\n\u201cIf women are treated as second-class citizens and barred from competing for the same opportunities for promotions and leadership as men, the military will lose the talent it has and be unable to recruit the talent it needs, and that will undermine our ability to keep Americans safe.\u201d\n\nText of Letter (PDF)\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), all members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote to Susan Wiles, President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s incoming Chief of Staff, about whether Pete Hegseth\u2019s attitudes toward women, including his opposition to women in combat, and allegations of sexual assault and harassment, disqualify him to be the next Secretary of Defense.\n\n\u201cAs Secretary, Mr. Hegseth will set the tone for how women are treated throughout the military and whether women have enough confidence in him to join or remain in the military,\u201d wrote the lawmakers.\n\nMr. Hegseth\u2019s opposition to women in combat roles has begun to cause \u201cmounting concern\u201d among female active duty service members about whether they will continue to serve their country under his leadership. As recently as November 7th, Mr. Hegseth stated: \u201cI\u2019m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn\u2019t made us more effective. Hasn\u2019t made us more lethal. Has made fighting more complicated.\u201d\n\n\u201cExperts tell us that meeting current recruiting goals and building the cutting-edge force we need for the future requires recruiting more women to the force,\u201d wrote the lawmakers. \u201cIf women are treated as second-class citizens and barred from competing for the same opportunities for promotions and leadership as men, the military will lose the talent it has and be unable to recruit the talent it needs, and that will undermine our ability to keep Americans safe.\u201d\n\n\u201cMr. Hegseth\u2019s ill-informed views ignore the significant role women have played in combat roles for the United States of America,\u201d wrote the lawmakers. \u201cHis dismissal of women as warfighters drives away both potential recruits and women who are already serving in the armed forces.\u201d\n\nMr. Hesgeth has also been under fire for his alleged history of sexual assault and harassment. Last month, according to press reports, the Trump transition team received a memo alleging that Mr. Hegseth \u201craped a then-30-year-old conservative group staffer in his room after drinking at a hotel bar.\u201d Additionally, when he served as president of Concerned Veterans of America CVA, a whistleblower report alleged that Hegseth and his management team \u201csexually pursued the organization\u2019s female staffers\u201d and \u201cignored serious accusations of impropriety, including an allegation made by a female employee that another employee on Hegseth\u2019s staff had attempted to sexually assault her\u201d at a strip club.\n\nAlready, the U.S. military's Defense Department continues to report unacceptably high levels of sexual harassment and assault in the military ranks, and it struggles to meet annual military recruiting goals.\n\n\u201cThe allegation that Mr. Hegseth sexually assaulted a woman and personally contributed to creating a hostile work environment for female employees raises severe concerns about his ability to address the Department of Defense\u2019s problems with sexual assault,\u201d wrote the lawmakers.\n\nThe Senators requested answers to their questions by December 30.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:07:19Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-senators-question-hegseth-nomination-his-disqualifying-views-on-women-in-the-military-allegations-of-sexual-assault"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.844617072492838, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}