Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

‘Big Plank In Your Eye’: GOP Sen Tells Dems Attacking Hegseth’s Personal Life To Look In The Mirror

[Screenshot/CSPAN]

Republican Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin called out Democratic senators’ alleged hypocrisy Tuesday as they attacked Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth over his personal past.

Mullen stated that the senators are “hypocritical” for criticizing Hegseth’s qualifications and scoffed at Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, who accused the defense secretary of showing up to work drunk and for cheating on his first wife. He accused the senators of holding themselves to a higher standard by claiming Hegseth is not qualified for his nominated position due to his past mistakes in life.

“Senator Kaine … starts bringing up the fact, what if you show up drunk to your job? How many senators have shown up drunk to vote at night?” Mullin asked. “Have any of you guys asked them to step down and resign from their job? And don’t tell me you haven’t seen it because I know you have. And how many senators do you know have gotten a divorce for cheating on their wives? Did you ask them to step down? No. But it’s for show. You guys make sure you make a big show and point out the hypocrisy because a man’s made a mistake. And you want to sit there and say he’s not qualified? Give me a joke.”

“It is so ridiculous that guys hold yourselves to this higher standard and you forget you’ve got this big plank in your eye,” the senator continued. “We’ve all made mistakes.”

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Hegseth’s nomination had been surrounded with controversy over allegations that he engaged in excessive drinking and sexual misconduct, all of which he denied. A woman accused Hegseth of sexually assaulting her in October 2017 in Monterey, California, though the Monterey County district attorney said no charges were ever filed over the alleged incident.

The New York Times leaked an email sent to Hegseth by his mother, Penelope, on April 30, 2018, where she condemned his alleged mistreatment and belittling of women “for his own power and ego.” His mother later said during an interview with “Fox & Friends” that she later apologized to her son for the email, explaining that she wrote the message “in haste” as her son went through a divorce with his ex-wife, Samantha Deering.

The couple divorced in 2017 after Hegseth had impregnated former Fox News producer Jennifer Rauchet, who he later married in 2019, according to The Independent. He admitted to having five affairs during his first marriage to Meredith Schwartz, who filed for divorce in 2008, according to Vanity Fair.

During the hearing, the defense nominee described his current wife, Jennifer Rauchet, as the “smartest, most capable, loving, humble [and] honest” person he has ever known.