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For per week in early December, it regarded like Donald Trump’s nominee to steer the Division of Protection, Pete Hegseth, was cooked. Too many tales alleging womanizing, sexual assault, and ingesting on the job have been coming in, layered atop the Fox Information host’s basic concern of missing conventional {qualifications}. He reached some extent of getting to pledge to particular person senators that he wouldn’t drink if he have been confirmed to the place. He was plummeting, and it appeared like a matter of time earlier than Trump would pull the plug.

Have been we to pinpoint the second his trajectory modified, it was in a gaggle with Capitol Hill reporters on Thursday, Dec. 5. Whereas beforehand conserving an arm’s size from the press corps following him round with questions, Hegseth started to take it on to the media.

“This is not going to be a course of tried within the media. I don’t reply to anybody on this group,” Hegseth mentioned, waving his finger in entrance of the assembled reporters. “None of you, to not that digital camera in any respect. I reply to President Trump, who acquired 76 million votes,” he mentioned, “and a mandate for change. I reply to the 100 senators who’re a part of this course of and people within the committee. And I reply my Lord and savior, and my spouse and my household.”

Right here, Hegseth acknowledged that responding on digital camera to report after report about his previous misdeeds was getting him nowhere. Issuing a blanket edict that he wouldn’t reply to you all within the biased media—wave that finger—confirmed Trump that he had some struggle in him, and hardened the Republican base round his nomination. By the next Monday, this refusal to answer allegations from nameless sources had turn out to be a Senate Republican speaking level. A key holdout on Hegseth’s nomination, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst—after being torched in MAGA media over that weekend—was utilizing the road and selling Hegseth’s candidacy. Ever since then, Hegseth’s affirmation has appeared way more possible than not.

Tuesday’s affirmation listening to within the Senate Armed Companies Committee, then, was the primary and solely alternative for Hegseth’s technique to face cross-examination.

Armed Companies Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, Hegseth’s hand-holder for the four-hour interrogation, set the desk for him along with his opening query. He famous that Hegseth had confronted allegations since November masking “sexual assault, inappropriate office habits, alcohol abuse, and monetary mismanagement,” however famous that “the vast majority of these have come from nameless sources in liberal media publications.” He gave Hegseth an opportunity to reply typically.

Hegseth mentioned it turned apparent to him from the start that there was a “coordinated smear marketing campaign orchestrated within the media in opposition to us.”

“From story after story within the media—left-wing media—we noticed nameless supply after nameless supply primarily based on second- or thirdhand accounts,” he mentioned. “A small handful of nameless sources have been allowed to drive a smear marketing campaign, an agenda about me, as a result of our left-wing media in America at present doesn’t care in regards to the reality.” Whereas most—although not all—of the accusers have been publicly nameless, the committee is conscious of names of some accusers.

Democrats on the committee—none of whom sounded even barely focused on supporting Hegseth’s nomination—approached their questioning from three angles: the non-public allegations in opposition to Hegseth, his lack of expertise for the job, and his bombastic previous statements on issues similar to ladies in navy fight roles. The scandalous allegations, whereas doubtlessly probably the most deadly to Hegseth’s nomination if they may show him personally unfit for such a high-stakes function, are additionally the trickiest. As Hegseth confirmed in salvaging his nomination in December, they rally on-the-fence Republicans to his aspect in opposition to the frequent enemy of villainous left-wing media.

Senate Democrats put this delicate materials into the arms of two of their least bombastic good guys: Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Mark Kelly of Arizona. Trusting two of their much less polarizing, mild-mannered senators with probably the most explosive materials resulted in two of the extra significant exchanges of the listening to.

Kaine went more durable than I’ve ever seen him go, chastising Hegseth for saying he was “fully cleared” in a 2017 Monterey, California, sexual assault investigation through which Hegseth claimed the intercourse was consensual. “I’m shocked that you’d stand right here and say you’re fully cleared,” Kaine mentioned, when Hegseth would “so casually cheat on a second spouse and cheat on the mom of a kid who had been born two months earlier than.”

The place Kaine made headway in asking in regards to the allegations in opposition to Hegseth, although, was in taking pictures down the concept that all of them have been “nameless.” Kaine talked about the allegation through which Hegseth, as a nonprofit govt, took co-workers to a strip membership, ultimately resulting in a sexual harassment cost being filed by one in every of his co-workers.

“Nameless false expenses,” Hegseth mentioned.

However Kaine talked about that the committee’s senators had the identify of the individual making this allegation.

“You declare that this was all nameless,” Kaine mentioned. “We have now seen information with names hooked up to all of those together with the identify of your personal mom, so don’t make this into some sort of nameless press factor.”

Kelly, in the meantime, listed particular allegations in opposition to Hegseth, and requested him whether or not every was true or false. Was he so drunk at a Memorial Day occasion in 2014 that he wanted to be carried out?

“Senator, nameless smears,” Hegseth responded.

Summer time of 2014 in Cleveland, drunk along with his nonprofit group?

“Nameless smears.”

An occasion in North Carolina, drunk in entrance of three workers members?

“Nameless smears.”

2014 Christmas celebration in D.C., needed to be carried as much as his room?

“Nameless smears.”

Solely as soon as in these many rounds—when requested whether or not he took his workers to a strip membership—did he append an “completely not” to his response of “nameless smears.”

Each of those rounds of questioning have been a reminder that whereas railing in opposition to “nameless smears” from the media is an efficient technique of conserving your nomination alive, it’s not a solution to the query, below oath, of whether or not or not they occurred.

Whereas Hegseth’s nomination doesn’t have sufficient public commitments but from Republican senators to know for certain that he’ll be confirmed, that is one which Trump needs and insists that he will get. Joni Ernst realized that the laborious approach in December, and the Trump equipment has made it identified that he views the vote on this as a loyalty check. Whereas being evasive within the listening to, Hegseth didn’t commit any form of deadly mistake that’s more likely to ship the Senate GOP into a serious rethink, and earn Trump’s wrath, this late within the course of—and limiting questioning to at least one spherical restricted Hegseth’s threat publicity, too. To have any additional considerations in regards to the appropriateness of Hegseth working a significant division of three million workers would, in spite of everything, be a give up to the media.