Five takeaways from Pete Hegseth hearing

A 2017 accusation of sexual assault in Monterey, California, which surfaced soon after Trump tapped him for the Pentagon role, came up repeatedly.

According to a police report, an unnamed woman said Hegseth took her phone and blocked the door when she tried to leave his hotel room before sexually assaulting her.

Hegseth has denied any wrongdoing. His lawyer acknowledged Hegseth had paid an undisclosed amount to stay quiet about the incident.

On Tuesday, Hegseth mainly went on the offensive, decrying a "coordinated smear campaign" orchestrated by the left-wing media. "They want to destroy me."

But at other times in the hearing, Hegseth responded to questions about his conduct with passionate references to his Christian faith.

"I am not a perfect person, but redemption is real," he said.

Senator Tim Kaine, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, found these statements to be unsatisfactorily contradictory.

Referencing the allegations of sexual assault, views on women and drinking, Kaine repeatedly asked Hegseth during the confirmation hearing how Hegseth can be both a changed man and the allegations against him be meritless.

"If all those allegations were false, then what do you mean you changed and reformed," Kaine told the BBC.