Amid Tuesday's Senate confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of defense, MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin raised a question over why Hegseth's ex-wife was not interviewed for his background check.

Iowa Senator Joni Ernst announced that she would vote for Pete Hegseth to become Defense Secretary, making his path to Senate confirmation much easier.

Pete Hegseth could hardly be more suited to be Donald Trump’s secretary of Defense — even though he’d surely be deemed unqualified by any conventional president.

Sen. John Curtis said he’s decided to support President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Defense secretary, Pete Hegseth. The Utah Republican was one of a few GOP senators who had not declared how he would vote on Hegseth’s nomination. This makes Hegseth much more likely to clinch the Cabinet position.

Pete Hegseth, center, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be defense secretary, is joined by his wife Jennifer Rauchet, right, as they depart a meeting with Republican House members, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

“Late Show” host Stephen Colbert said defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth is facing allegations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct. But he also has his supporters, including Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), who flubbed a key line as he wrapped up his defense of Hegseth during Tuesday’s confirmation hearing.

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, has publicly faced senators for the first time.

Even though Trump has not officially been inaugurated, the Senate can confirm cabinet members before his Oath of Office.

Republicans appear poised to confirm Trump’s controversial nominee to lead the government’s largest and most complex agency

But did this happen at the Pete Hegseth hearings in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee this week? If you thought those kinds of questions would dominate the hearings, you must be living under the illusion that we live in a serious country.

Hegseth wants to restore honor to Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, the native North Carolinian whose name was replaced at Fort Bragg last year. | Opinion