WATCH: Sen. Warren questions Hegseth about changing views on women in the military

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., questioned defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth about his opposition to women in combat and his "about-face" on the subject after he was nominated by President-elect Donald Trump.

Warren said Hegseth had long believed that women did not belong in combat roles and had said so as recently as a November podcast interview.

“After your last public comment saying that women absolutely should not be in combat, you declared that some of our greatest warriors are women, and you support having them serve in combat,” Warren said.

“That is a very, very big about-face in a very, very short period of time. So help me understand, Mr. Hegseth, what extraordinary event happened in that 32-day period that made you change the core values you had?”

Hegseth denied that he believed women did not belong in combat and said his own concern were “standards.”

Hegseth is a military veteran and conservative media personality. Trump’s pick for defense secretary has faced allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive drinking, and been criticized as a nominee for his controversial views on diversity and religion in the military.

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