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Sen. Tim KaineDemocrat from Virginia, invoked Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth’s daughter during a heated hearing, sparking backlash from conservatives on social media who argued the comments crossed a line.
““So you think you’re completely acquitted because you didn’t commit a crime?” the former vice presidential nominee told Hegseth during his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday.
“That’s your definition of acquitted. You just fathered a child two months earlier with a woman who wasn’t your wife. I’m surprised you stand here and say you’re completely acquitted. You can so casually cheat on a second wife and cheat to the mother of a child who was born two months earlier? And you tell us that you are completely acquitted?
Kaine was commenting on Hegseth’s behavior in previous 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 any wrongdoing following an investigation and has since described the incident as consensual. “I was thoroughly investigated and completely acquitted,” he said of the accusation.
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Senator Tim Kaine and Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth at the Senate confirmation hearing. (Getty Images)
“Senator, your daughter’s name is Gwendolyn Hope Hegseth and she is a daughter of God,” Hegseth responded. “He’s 7 years old and I’m glad he’s here.”
“And you cheated on that girl’s mother,” Kaine responded. “Less than two months after that daughter was born, right?”
Hegseth told Kaine that these were “false accusations” and reiterated that he was “completely cleared” and “grateful” for the marriage he has to the “incredible woman” behind him.
Kaine persisted: “You admitted you had sex at that hotel in October 2017. You said it was consensual. Isn’t that correct?”
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Pete Hegseth gestures during the Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
The two continued to go back and forth over the veracity of the claims against Hegseth, with Kaine pressing the candidate on whether he kept his marriage vow.
“I will let your words speak for themselves,” Hegseth said at one point.
“As I have acknowledged to everyone on this committee, I am not a perfect person. “I don’t pretend to be,” Hegseth said before being interrupted by Kaine, who accused Hegseth of withholding information about the impeachment when he was examined by Trump’s team.
Kaine eventually went on to question Hegseth about his drinking and other accusations that Hegseth has dismissed as “false.”
Conservatives on social networks, along with Senator Markwayne MullinR-Okla., at another point in the hearing, took issue with Kaine’s line of questioning, particularly invoking Hegseth’s daughter.
“Senator Tim Kaine really tried to use Pete Hegseth’s 7-year-old daughter against him, it’s despicable,” commented conservative commentator Drew Hernandez. published in X.
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You. Tim Kaine (Getty Images)
“IRONY ALERT: Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) Tries to Lecture Pete Hegseth About Adultery,” The First TV published in X. “Remember that Tim Kaine ran in the same failed presidential bid as Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton’s legal wife.”
“Tim Kaine has a lot to say about Pete Hegseth’s conduct during their marriage,” Will Chamberlain, lead attorney for the Article III Project. published in X. “Here’s Tim Kaine campaigning with Doug Emhoff, who, when he was married, got his babysitter pregnant and forced her to have 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
