A senator told Hegseth: "I suggest you do a little homework before you prepare for these types of negotiations."

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, was questioned about ASEAN during a heated Senate confirmation and struggled with his response.

As the dust settles on the fight over Pete Hegseth's nomination, his confirmation is emblematic of a larger truth about the state of Republican politics.

Every one of Hegseth’s predecessors emphasized unity and a diverse military as key to national progress and defense.

In a heated Senate confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseth, Sen. Tammy Duckworth grilled the proposed defense secretary over the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, asking him if he could name one member and how many countries were in the bloc.

Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, born in Bangkok to a Thai mother and an American father, posed the question to Pete Hegseth.

Pete Hegseth, who appeared for Senate hearing on Monday ... At present, it includes Brunei, Myanmar, the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. East Timor will be soon added as the eleventh nation.

Pete Hegseth has vowed to bring his “warrior” ethos to the Pentagon. Democrats had assailed him as unfit for the job, and his confirmation came down to Vice President JD Vance serving as tiebreaker.

Donald Trump’s controversial nominee could soon be confirmed by Republicans to lead the Department of Defense.

Vice President Vance cast a tie-breaking vote as Hegseth overcame allegations of sexual assault, public drunkenness and questions of financial mismanagement to win Senate approval.

A Princeton and Harvard-educated former combat veteran, Hegseth went on to make a career at Fox News, where he hosted a weekend show. Trump tapped him as the defense secretary to lead an organization with nearly 2.1 million service members, about 780,000 civilians and a budget of $850 billion.

The Senate’s 50-50 vote for Pete Hegseth marked the second time in history that a vice president was called upon to break the tie to confirm a Cabinet official.