Amid widespread worries about Hegseth's qualifications, past comments about women and Black troops, and accusations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct, Paul —now chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee — told NewsNation he's had an entirely different impression of the nominee.
"I first met Pete Hegseth maybe a decade before he was on Fox with Concerned Veterans (for America), and I knew him and appreciated his work, never saw anything untoward," Paul said. "I liked him because he was not only a combat veteran, but someone who had a healthy respect for war, and for not being eager to put people into combat."
Much of Hegseth's hearing on Capitol Hill focused on questions surrounding his character, credibility, and fitness for the job, which involves with overseeing the sprawling defense department with close to 3.4 million personnel and operations in more than 80 countries.
Paul indicated his opinion of the nominee remain positive following this week's confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, where Hegseth pushed back on allegations of misconduct, calling them an "anonymous smear campaign."
Saying Hegseth shares his view that war should be "the last resort, not the first resort," Paul added, "That's the kind of rational, reasonable person I want at the Pentagon."
While he won't have a vote in the confirmation process, Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr told Terry Meiners' radio show he's been "very impressed with the vision that (Hegseth) has for the Defense Department."
Barr continued: "The Defense Department over the last four years has been infected with wokeness, with diversity, equity, and inclusion priorities, which really do not reflect the mission of the Defense Department."
Speaking generally about President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet picks in November, before former Congressman Matt Gaetz dropped his nomination for attorney general, Gov. Andy Beshear said, "We don't need extremists in these really important jobs. I get that there are going to be certain folks that have a certain ideology, but you want folks that are qualified, competent, and are ultimately going to be able to do those jobs in a way to where the majority of the American people would be better off."
A vote on Hegseth's confirmation is expected days after Trump's inauguration.
