When Pete Hegseth was nominated as US President Donald Trump's secretary of defense and was facing his confirmation hearing, he had to answer questions about his lack of leadership experience, allegations of abuse and his views on women in the military.

Mr Hegseth strongly denied the abuse allegations and eventually survived the hearing, becoming only the second cabinet nominee in the country's history to be confirmed after a 50-50 tie.

It was Vice President JD Vance's vote that broke the deadlock and sent Mr Hegseth to the Pentagon.

But since then, the former television host has again had to defend himself.

First, over his comments in Brussels when he opened the Trump administration's negotiations over the war in Ukraine by handing Russia a win, saying the invaded would have to cede l

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