Hegseth plays nice

Pete Hegseth backed away from a number of his previous stances at his Tuesday confirmation hearing for Pentagon chief, taking a more conciliatory tone than he has in previous occasions.

President-elect Donald Trump’s Defense Department pick insisted he thought gay people could serve in the military and that women should be able to engage in combat — a shift from past comments.

“Politics has nothing to do with the battlefield, which is what President Trump has asked me to say,” Hegseth told the Senate Armed Services Committee.