In his book, Hegseth clearly says that some women are indeed the equal of men, and he himself has known many “phenomenal” female soldiers. The problem, as he sees it, is that woke ideologues require every woman to be regarded as being as successful as every man.

Pete Hegseth has dismissed the role of women in the military in past interviews and in his own writing. “I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles,” Hegseth said during a November appearance on “The Shawn Ryan Show” podcast.

As author of several books and a former Fox News Channel host, Hegseth has been forced to defend himself against a long record of his own public comments, including in his most recent book, “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.”