Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., invoked secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth’s daughter during a heated hearing, prompting pushback from conservatives on social media who argued that the comments crossed a line. 

So you think you are completely cleared because you committed no crime?’ the former vice presidential candidate said to Hegseth during his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday. 

‘That’s your definition of cleared. You had just fathered a child two months before by a woman that was not your wife. I am shocked that you would stand here and say you’re completely cleared. Can you so casually cheat on a second wife and cheat on the mother of a child who had been born two months before? And you tell us you are completely cleared? How is that completely cleared?’

Kaine was commenting on Hegseth’s behavior in earlier marriages, including an October 2017 incident in Monterey, California, in which Hegseth was accused of sexual assault. Hegseth, a former Fox News host, was later cleared of wrongdoing following an investigation, and has since described the incident as consensual. ‘I was fully investigated and completely cleared,’ he said of the allegation.

‘Senator, her child’s name is Gwendolyn Hope Hegseth, and she’s a child of God,’ Hegseth responded. ‘She’s 7 years old, and I am glad she’s here.’

And you cheated on the mother of that child,’ Kaine responded. ‘Less than two months after that daughter was born, didn’t you?’

Hegseth told Kaine those were ‘false charges’ and reiterated that he was ‘completely cleared’ and ‘grateful’ to the marriage he has to the ‘amazing woman’ behind him.

Kaine persisted, ‘You’ve admitted that you had sex at that hotel in October 2017. You said it was consensual. Isn’t that correct?’

The two continued to go back and forth on the veracity of the claims against Hegseth, with Kaine pressing the nominee on whether he honored his wedding vow. 

‘I will allow your words to speak for themselves,’ Hegseth said at one point. 

As I’ve acknowledged to everyone in this committee, I’m not a perfect person. I’m not claiming to be,’ Hegseth said before being cut off by Kaine, who went on to accuse Hegseth of withholding information about the accusation when being vetted by the Trump team. 

Kaine ultimately moved on to questioning Hegseth about his relationship with drinking and other allegations that Hegseth has dismissed as ‘false.’

Conservatives on social media, along with Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., at another point in the hearing, took issue with Kaine’s line of questioning, particularly invoking Hegseth’s daughter.

‘Senator Tim Kaine really did try to use Pete Hegseth’s 7 year old daughter against him, despicable,’ conservative commentator Drew Hernandez posted on X. 

‘IRONY ALERT: Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) tries to lecture Pete Hegseth on adultery,’ The First TV posted on X. ‘Reminder that Tim Kaine ran on the same failed presidential ticket as Hillary Clinton, legal wife of Bill Clinton.’

‘Tim Kaine has a lot to say about Pete Hegseth’s conduct during his marriage,’ Article III Project senior counsel Will Chamberlain posted on X. ‘Here’s Tim Kaine campaigning with Doug Emhoff, who – while married – impregnated his nanny and forced her to get an abortion.’

Fox News Digital reached out to Kaine’s office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report

Families who lost loved ones during the disastrous 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan are throwing their support behind Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth.

Hegseth, who President-elect Trump tapped to head the Defense Department, underwent questioning from the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday, where he faced over four hours of questioning from Republican and Democratic lawmakers.

The Abbey Gate Coalition, a group of the parents and families of those who tragically lost their lives in a terrorist attack after President Biden withdrew troops from Afghanistan, penned a letter to senators on Tuesday urging them to confirm Trump’s defense nominee and doubling down on their criticism of the current administration’s handling of the deadly event.

‘We have been sitting by watching the current administration do nothing but attempt to take victory laps and thumb their noses at the sacrifice that our children made on that fateful day,’ the letter reads. ‘They have had no interest in giving us any of those answers that we seek, and have attempted to put Afghanistan in the rear view mirror as was further evidenced yesterday in President Biden’s final address on his foreign affairs and his supposed successes.’

The coalition has been critical of the Biden administration since the withdrawal, writing in the letter that they have been ‘stonewalled’ by his administration.

‘We have been stonewalled at every turn and only given ‘bread-crumbs’ to attempt to make us just go away! We feel that there has been a complete coverup at the department of Defense with the current Secretary of Defense leading the way,’ the coalition wrote.

The families said the process for accountability over Afghanistan begins with the confirmation of Hegseth to lead the Defense Department.

‘We ask that you please hear our words and feel the pain that we do, knowing that it was avoidable in respect to what happened to our children,’ the letter reads.

The Biden administration’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan led to the deaths of 13 U.S. service members defending the Kabul airport during the operation, while hundreds of Americans and tens of thousands of Afghan allies were left in the country under Taliban rule. Conservative critics, such as Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said the withdrawal paved the way for adversaries such as Russia to invade Ukraine. 

The Taliban claimed control of Afghanistan following the withdrawal. 

The families who lost loved ones during the botched withdrawal have previously and repeatedly slammed Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris over their deaths, including launching a scathing defense attack against Harris – when she was running for president – after the anniversary of the withdrawal last year. Parents and other loved ones claimed that the ‘administration killed my son’ and that they ‘have not seen any support from you or your administration.’

Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly remembered the service members who died, and invited their families to the Republican convention in Milwaukee in July. 

‘Look at our faces. Look at our pain, and our heartbreak. And look at our rage. [The Afghanistan withdrawal] was not an extraordinary success,’ said Cheryl Juels, the aunt of Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee, at the RNC. ‘Joe Biden owes the men and women who served in Afghanistan a debt of gratitude, and an apology.’

​​’While Joe Biden has refused to recognize their sacrifice, Donald Trump spent six hours in Bedminster with us,’ said the mother-in-law of Nicole Gee at the RNC. ‘He allowed us to grieve, he allowed us to remember our heroes. Donald Trump knew all of our children’s names, he knew their stories, and he spoke to us in a way that made us feel understood, like he knew our kids.’

A group of House Republicans is pushing to completely block U.S. funding for the World Health Organization (WHO).

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, policy chair for the conservative House Freedom Caucus, introduced the bill on Tuesday and argued the international health body ‘doesn’t serve our interests and doesn’t deserve our money.’

He also attacked WHO member countries’ current effort to draft an international pandemic preparedness treaty, accusing the organization of a bid to consolidate and further its own influence.

‘Taking money from hardworking families struggling with the aftermath of Biden’s inflation crisis to send it to a bunch of leftist ‘public health’ tyrants in Geneva is unacceptable,’ Roy told Fox News Digital.

‘I am confident that President Trump will cut the WHO’s funding off — as he did last time — but this legislation will ensure that no future administration can restart it.’

At least a dozen GOP lawmakers are backing the bill.

A significant number of Republicans, including President-elect Donald Trump, have been critical of the WHO, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump announced he was halting funding to the WHO during his first term in April 2020, a move that drew blowback from the U.S. medical community, Politico reported at the time.

‘Fighting a global pandemic requires international cooperation and reliance on science and data,’ Patrice Harris, president of the American Medical Association, told the outlet.

However, conservatives in Congress have viewed the organization as a power-hungry group that did not take U.S. interests into account.

The U.S. is currently the biggest contributor to the WHO, according to World Population Review. The organization’s website states that 60% of its funding comes from member states.

Roy’s ‘No Taxpayer Funding for the World Health Organization Act’ would stop all contributions to WHO, both committed and other voluntary funding.

A spokesperson for WHO said the body was focused on maintaining its relationship with the U.S. when reached for comment on Roy’s bill.

‘The WHO Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said in December, at a press conference, that the new U.S. administration has not yet taken office and it requires time, like any new government, to do so. As Dr Tedros has said, WHO will do everything to cooperate with the incoming U.S. administration to continue to strengthen global health security,’ the spokesperson said.

‘I would add that the WHO-US partnership, and America’s contribution to global health security more broadly, has protected and saved millions of lives in America and around the world. WHO values greatly its relationship with the US and is committed to maintaining and strengthening it.’

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth, was interrupted by at least three protesters during his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday. 

‘Veterans are committing suicide and are homeless, but we send money to bomb children in Gaza,’ one female protester wearing fatigues shouted as she was escorted from the hearing, Fox News Digital video shows. 

Hegseth appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday morning, when he was grilled by lawmakers ahead of a committee vote and final confirmation vote on his nomination as secretary of Defense. 

An elderly man who was handcuffed with zipties was also seen being escorted out of the hearing. Another man, also appearing to wear fatigues, was seen being carried out by Capitol Police. 

Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has spent his days in recent weeks on Capitol Hill meeting with senators to rally support as he battled allegations of sexual misconduct, excessive drinking and mismanaging a veterans nonprofit organization. Hegseth has denied the allegations and vowed that he won’t drink ‘a drop of alcohol’ if confirmed to Trump’s Cabinet.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., asked Hegseth about the protesters during his hearing, including regarding the war in Israel that has been ongoing since 2023. 

‘Another protester, and I think this one was a member of Code Pink, which, by the way, is a Chinese communist front group these days, said that you support Israel’s war in Gaza. I support Israel’s existential war in Gaza. I assume, like me and President Trump, you support that war as well,’ Cotton said. 

‘I support Israel destroying and killing every last member of Hamas,’ Hegseth responded. 

‘And the third protester said something about 20 years of genocide. I assume that’s our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Do you think our troops are committing genocide in Iraq and Afghanistan?’ Cotton continued. 

‘Senator, I do not. I think … our troops, as you know, as so many in this committee know, did the best they could with what they had. … And tragically, the outcome we saw in Afghanistan under the Biden administration put a stain on that, but it doesn’t put a stain on what those men and women did in uniform, as you know full well, Senator,’ Hegseth responded. 

Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, who initially did not publicly back Pete Hegseth’s nomination as secretary of Defense, publicly questioned the nominee on Tuesday morning on her three ‘very important issues’ surrounding the military. 

‘I want to know, again, let’s make it very clear for everyone here today, as Secretary of Defense, will you support women continuing to have the opportunity to serve in combat roles?’ Ernst asked former Fox News host Hegseth on Tuesday, saying women serving in the military was one of her top three concerns. 

‘Senator, first of all, thank you for your service. As we discussed extensively as well, and my answer is yes, exactly the way that you caveated it. Yes, women will have access to ground combat roles, combat roles given the standards remain high, and we’ll have a review to ensure the standards have not been eroded,’ Hegseth responded. 

Ernst sits on the ​​Senate Armed Services Committee, which held its hearing on Hegseth’s nomination Tuesday morning. She initially withheld public support of the Trump nominee before later signaling she endorsed his nomination.

The Iowa senator said in her opening remarks that she is known for not keeping ‘anything hidden, pull no punches,’ while thanking Hegseth for joining the committee for the hearing. She explained that she had three top issues to ask Hegseth, including an audit of the Department of Defense, women serving in combat roles and ‘making sure that we are combating sexual assault in the military.’

On the point of a DOD audit, Hegseth said he has long called for an audit and supports one, before moving onto his view of women serving in military combat roles and combating sexual assault in the military. 

‘A priority of mine has been combating sexual assault in the military and making sure that all of our service members are treated with dignity and respect. This has been so important. Senator Gillibrand and I have worked on this, and we were able to get changes made to the uniform code of military justice to make sure that we have improvements, and on how we address the tragic and life altering, issues of rape, sexual assault. It will demand time and attention from the Pentagon under your watch, if you are confirmed,’ Ernst said. 

‘So, as secretary of Defense, will you appoint a senior level official dedicated to sexual assault prevention and response?’ she asked. 

Hegseth said that, as they had previously discussed, he would appoint an official to such a role. 

Late last year, Ernst initially withheld committing to voting in favor of Hegseth before backtracking and saying she would support the nominee as the Trump orbit was anticipated to ramp up criticisms against Ernst. 

‘It’s really this simple: If you oppose President Trump’s nominees, you oppose the Trump agenda and there will be a political price to pay for that. We are well aware that there are certain establishment Senators trying to tank the President’s nominees to make him look weak and damage him politically, and we’re just not going to allow that to happen,’ a top Trump ally told Fox News Digital as Ernst hesitated about offering her endorsement.  

Ernst said in comments last month that she supported his nomination. 

‘As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources,’ Ernst said at the time. 

Ernst’s questions followed Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Kirsten Gillibrand grilling the candidate about similar issues surrounding women in the military. 

‘You’ve made a number of surprising statements about women in the military,’ Shaheen told Hegseth, before noting that women comprise roughly 18% of U.S. military personnel. 

‘Women in our military, as I have said publicly, have and continue to make amazing contributions across all aspects of our battlefield,’ Hegseth responded. 

‘What I’m confused about, Mr. Hegseth, is why should women in our military— if you were the secretary of defense— believe that they would have a fair shot and an equal opportunity to rise through the ranks? If, on the one hand, you say that women are not competent, they make our military less effective— and on the other hand, you say, ‘Oh, now, now that I’ve been nominated to be the Secretary of Defense, I’ve changed my view on women in the military.’’ 

Hegseth responded that his concern revolves around standards used for women in combat roles and those standards getting watered down. 

‘I would be honored to have the opportunity to serve alongside, shoulder to shoulder, men and women; black, white; all backgrounds with a shared purpose,’ Hegseth said.

​​Trump nominated Hegseth, a former National Guard officer, as secretary of Defense in November following his election win, saying ‘with Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice — Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down.’ Hegseth was a host on ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ before Trump’s nomination.