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By Jordan King
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Pete Hegseth appeared not to know what the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is during his confirmation hearing.
President-elect Donald Trump's choice for defense secretary said he was unable to say the number of nations in ASEAN and then went on to list countries that are not part of the organization.
Hegseth's attorney Timothy Parlatore told Newsweek: "If Mr Hegseth's unfamiliarity with an economic union to which the United States is not a party is the only criticism you can muster on yesterday's hearing, then clearly he performed superbly."
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What To Know
Hegseth faced a grilling from the Senate Armed Services Committee at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday.
Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who was arguing that Hegseth is "not qualified" for the role of defense secretary which would include leading international negotiations, asked Hegseth: "You talked about the Indo-Pacific a little bit, and I'm glad that you mention it—can you name the importance of at least one of the nations in ASEAN and what type of agreement we have with at least one of those nations, and how many nations are in ASEAN by the way?"
Hegseth answered: "I couldn't tell you the exact amount of nations in that but I know we have allies in South Korea, in Japan and in AUKUS with Australia."
Duckworth interrupted him to say: "None of those three countries that you mentioned are in ASEAN, I suggest you do a little homework before you prepare for these types of negotiations."
Journalist Aaron Rupar shared a clip of the moment in a post on X, formerly Twitter, which has received over 2.8 million views. At the time of writing, Hegseth was also a trending topic on the social media platform.
Which Southeast Asian Nations Are in ASEAN?
ASEAN, which promotes political, economic and cultural cooperation between its member states, is made up of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. East Timor is set to join as the eleventh country soon.
The U.S., which is treaty partners with members Thailand and the Philippines, essentially wants to use ASEAN's regional influence to combat China's growing influence, according to the Associated Press.
At an ASEAN meeting in 2022, President Joe Biden said the bloc was "at the heart of (his) administration's Indo-Pacific strategy."
What Is the Defense Secretary's Role in Government?
The secretary of defense oversees the country's Department of Defense and is responsible for setting the vision of the U.S.'s military and defense policies.
They would also have a lot to do with the U.S.'s international relations, engaging with allies and partners around the world.
Who Will Pete Hegseth Replace?
The soon-to-be former secretary of defense is Lloyd J. Austin III, who graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, served for 41 years and retired as a four-star Army general after three years as commander of U.S. Central Command.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host, is one of Trump's most controversial Cabinet picks. He's previously called to get rid of "woke" military leaders and argued that women should not serve in combat roles. Hegseth has also advocated for pardoning service members accused of war crimes.
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The former TV host faced further scrutiny when it surfaced that he was accused of sexual assault eight years ago. He was not charged and a spokesperson for Trump told Vanity Fair that Hegseth has "vigorously denied any and all accusations."
His lawyer also previously told Newsweek: "Although an allegation was made, it was fully investigated and Pete was cleared. This unfortunate episode should have zero impact on the confirmation process."
Update 1/15/25, 7:00 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from Parlatore.
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