From the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal, this is Potomac Watch.

President Trump's cabinet choices begin to face their Senate confirmation hearings this week,

starting with Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegeseth.

Did the former infantry officer and TV host do what he needed to win a majority vote and how much did the public learn about his plans for the Pentagon?

Welcome. I'm Kyle Peterson with the Wall Street Journal. We're joined today by my colleagues, editorial board members Kate Batchelder O'Dell and Colin Levy.

For more than four hours on Tuesday, Pete Hags have parried questions from the Senate

about his view of America's defense priorities, as well as allegations against him of heavy drinking and a 2017 claim of sexual assault.

And tuning into these confirmation hearings, it wasn't hard to forget how much of Congress these days plays politics as a team

sport. Let's start on the left side of the aisle. This is Virginia Senator Tim Kane at tangling with

Mr. Hegg-Zaff. You have admitted that you had sex while you were married to wife two after you just

had fathered a child by wife three. You've admitted that. Now, if it had been a sexual assault,

that would be disqualifying to be Secretary of Defense, wouldn't it? It was a false claim then

and a false claim now. If it had been a sexual assault, that would be disqualifying to be

Secretary of Defense, wouldn't it? That was a false claim. So you can't...

So you can't tell me whether someone who has committed a sexual assault is disqualified

from being Secretary of Defense?

Senator, I know in my instance, and I'm talking about my instance only, it was a false

claim.

But you acknowledge that you cheated on your wife and that you cheated on the woman

by whom you had just fathered a child.

You have been met at that.

I will allow your words to speak for them.

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