Hegseth’s nomination as defense secretary puts renewed focus on women in combat

President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth as defense secretary has rekindled a thorny debate over women’s role in combat that Democrats sought to put to bed nearly a decade ago.

Critics of the Hegseth pick are circulating a recent video clip of the Fox News commentator saying women “should not” have combat roles, and Trump allies have rushed to his defense.

Rep. Ryan Zinke, Montana Republican, said Mr. Hegseth’s comments reflect a reality that some roles in the military should be “reserved” for men.

“There’s roles and missions for everyone involved in the military,” Mr. Zinke said Wednesday on “CNN This Morning.” “But when it comes to, you know, physical, you know, endurance, there’s a difference between men and women. And let’s call it the way it is.”

Mr. Zinke is no stranger to military service. For 23 years, he served as a Navy officer, including as a member of the elite SEAL Team Six, and retired with the rank of commander.

The Obama administration sought to quell the women in combat conversation when Defense Secretary Ash Carter made history by announcing that starting in 2016 all military occupations and positions would be open to women.

“They’ll be allowed to drive tanks, fire mortars and lead infantry soldiers into combat,” Mr. Carter said. “They’ll be able to serve as Army Rangers and Green Berets, Navy SEALs, Marine Corps infantry, Air Force parajumpers and everything else that was previously open only to men.”

Mr. Hegseth, however, suggested in a recent interview that it’s time to reverse course.

“I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles,” Mr. Hegseth said on the Shawn Ryan podcast. “It hasn’t made us more effective. It hasn’t made us more lethal [and] has made fighting more complicated.”

He added, “We all served with women and they are great. It is just our institutions don’t have to incentivize that in places where, over human history, men in those positions are more capable.”

Mr. Trump drove home the message on the campaign trail that military leaders had gotten soft and become too woke in part by letting transgender individuals serve openly as their identified gender.

Republicans, meanwhile, are highlighting Mr. Hegseth’s resume.

He rose to major in the Army National Guard, served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was awarded two Bronze Star Medals, which honor service members who distinguish themselves by heroic or meritorious achievement while engaged in military operations.

The 44-year-old holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton and a master’s from Harvard.