©  Greg Nash

THE BATTLE over President-elect Trump‘s Cabinet nominees got off to a blistering start Tuesday, with Pete Hegseth enduring a combative public hearing in his quest to lead the Department of Defense.

Over the course of more than four hours, Hegseth absorbed the full fury of Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee, who were unsparing in their critiques of his personal life and career experience.

The hearing was initially consumed by protesters who shouted at Hegseth, calling him a “misogynist” and a “Christian fascist.”

Hegseth, an Army veteran and former Fox News host, kept his cool under the bright lights, even as he faced questions about his drinking, multiple marriages and infidelities and an allegation of sexual assault.

Several key Republicans remain on the fence about Hegseth, who has a narrow margin for error with the 53-47 GOP majority in the Senate.

But there did not appear to be any devastating moments that might cause Republicans to rethink their support or revolt en masse against his nomination.

Republicans on the committee repeatedly rallied to Hegseth’s defense, and key swing votes, such as Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), did not signal through their questioning that his confirmation might be in doubt.

Hegseth’s confirmation process was always going to be a messy affair due to the personal nature of some of the allegations against him, which include heavy drinking, philandering and one allegation of sexual assault.

“We must acknowledge the concerning public reports against you,” said Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the ranking Democrat on the committee.

Democrats on the panel fumed at an NBC report, which found the FBI did not interview Hegseth’s accuser as part of his background check.

Hegseth has repeatedly denied the allegation of sexual assault, saying he had an extramarital but consensual sexual encounter with the woman.

He told Ernst, a survivor of sexual assault, that he would appoint a senior level officer to handle such allegations within the military.

Hegseth also denied the allegations of heavy drinking. He’s promised to abstain from alcohol if confirmed to lead the military.

“All anonymous [allegations], all false, all refuted by my colleagues,” he said.

He argued that the allegations against him were part of a “coordinated smear campaign” and that no accusers or victims have come froward to go on the record about his behavior.

“I’m willing to endure these attacks,” he said. “But what I will do is stand up for the truth and for my reputation.”

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) brought up Hegseth’s multiple marriages and past infidelities.

“You have admitted that you had sex while you were married to your wife two months after you had just fathered a child by wife three. You’ve admitted that,” Kaine said.

“I’m not a perfect person but redemption is real,” Hegseth replied.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) blasted back at the line of questioning.

“How many senators do you know have gotten divorced for cheating on their wives … it’s for show … it is so ridiculous you guys hold yourselves to a higher standard,” he said.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) unloaded on Hegseth for his past position that women should not serve in combat roles.

“Please explain these types of statements because they’re brutal and they’re mean and they disrespect men and women who are willing to die for this country,” Gillibrand said.

Hegseth later told Ernst, the first female combat veteran elected to the Senate, that he does not oppose women serving in combat roles, but that he wants a review to ensure physical standards within the military have not been “eroded.”

“I have never disparaged women in the military,” he said. “My critiques have been instances where standards are lowered.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) accused Hegseth of backtracking his comments about women in combat roles once he was nominated to lead the Pentagon. 

Warren, after reading out his past remarks opposing women in combat, said he did a “very big about-face in a very, very short period of time.”

Hegseth took shots at Democratic efforts to prioritize diversity and equity within the military, saying it’s led to a weaker fighting force.

He vowed to change the culture at the Pentagon by prioritizing “performance, readiness and merit.”

“We’ve repeatedly placed people atop the Pentagon with supposedly ‘the right credentials,’ whether they are retired generals, academics, or defense contractor executives. And where has it gotten us?” he said.

“Leaders at all levels will be held accountable,” he added. “Warfighting and lethality and the readiness of the troops and their families will be our only focus.”

Several of Trump’s Cabinet nominees will face various Senate panels Wednesday.

Up next:

• Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Secretary of State

• Pam Bondi, Attorney General

• Kristi Noem, Homeland Security

• John Ratcliffe, CIA

• Sean Duffy, Transportation

• Russell Vought, Office of Management and Budget

Find the full calendar here.

💡Perspectives:

• The Hill: Why Trump should abandon his imperial ambitions.

• New York: The key questions Trump must answer before his inauguration.

• Elizabeth Warren: If Trump wants to unrig the economy, I’m in.

• American Enterprise Institute: Trump’s ‘Americas First’ plan isn’t all bad.

• The Hill: DOGE should cut smart, not blind.

Read more: 

• No. 2 Senate Democratic leader will back Rubio for secretary of State.

• Million dollar campaign targets Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

• Schools brace for clash with immigration officials ahead of Trump term

Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Jonathan Easley, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here.

• President Biden plans to remove Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, reversing a decision made by President-elect Trump during his first term.
  
• House Republicans passed a bill to ban transgender athletes from girls’ sports. Two Democrats voted with all Republicans to support the bill.
  

• Former first lady Michelle Obama will not attend Trump’s inauguration. Billionaire tech entrepreneurs Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos will attend.
  

• U.S. deaths are expected to outpace births within the decade. 

©  Manuel Balce Ceneta, Associated Press

President Biden is making the final rounds and seeking to burnish his legacy, even as polling finds his approval rating hitting new lows.

This afternoon, Biden will issue proclamations establishing new national monuments in California. He’d intended to do that last week, but the fires broke out in Los Angeles.

On Wednesday, Biden will give his final Oval Office address to the nation.

On Thursday, he’ll sit for an interview with MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell.

At a speech on foreign policy Monday at the State Department, Biden said the U.S. is “winning” on the world stage and that he’s leaving President-elect Trump with a “strong hand.”

However, the public has a dim view of Biden’s presidency in his final days.

Biden’s approval rating is at the low point of his presidency in the 538 aggregate, with 35.6 percent approving and 57.1 percent disapproving.

A majority of voters say the U.S. lost ground in most areas during the Biden presidency, such as the economy, immigration and crime, according to the latest survey from Gallup.

💡Perspectives:

• Vox: Biden’s fatal flaw led to 4 years of weakness.

• The Nation: Prosecutorial liberalism has failed.

• USA Today: ‘Don’t know’ and ‘nobody’ lead Dem poll for new leader.

• The Liberal Patriot: Dems’ continued fixation on identity politics carries risks.

The special counsel prosecutors investigating President-elect Trump and Hunter Biden released final reports of their investigations Tuesday, potentially bringing an end to a political era that saw the rise of the once-rarely used special counsel designation.

•  Neither Trump nor Hunter Biden will be punished, despite the special counsel investigators concluding that both men engaged in illegal activities.

•  Trump is protected by the office of the presidency, and Hunter Biden was pardoned by his father, President Biden, in December.

Special counsel Jack Smith produced a 137-page report into his investigation of Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Smith concluded that he would have successfully prosecuted Trump, if not for his election victory in 2024.

“But for Mr. Trump’s election and imminent return to the Presidency, the Office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial,” Smith wrote.

Read Smith’s full report here.

Smith’s report on his investigation into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents remains under wraps for now, but it could become public when the cases against two of Trump’s confidantes conclude.

Special counsel David Weiss released his report into the multiyear investigation into Hunter Biden, who was facing tax and gun charges in two states.

When President Biden pardoned his son, he blasted the investigation as a politically motivated “miscarriage of justice” that had been infected by “raw politics.”

Weiss ripped that assertion in his report.

“I prosecuted the two cases against Mr. Biden because he broke the law,” Weiss wrote.

“Other presidents have pardoned family members, but in doing so, none have taken the occasion as an opportunity to malign the public servants at the Department of Justice based solely on false accusations,” he added.

Read Weiss’s full report here.

©  AP Photo/Noah Berger

• Congressional Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), are increasingly saying that any natural disaster aid sent to California must come with a commitment that the state will change its policies pertaining to forest management and the water supply.

The latest: Sen. Mike Rounds (R-Ark.) told NewsNation’s Blake Burman that aid could be tied to the debt limit, although he said that isn’t meant to be punitive.

“I think it will have to be, because we simply can’t provide the assistance unless we have the ability to borrow the money to do so,” Rounds replied.

The Los Angeles fires will be the most expensive in U.S. history, with early estimates pushing past the $150 billion mark.

Angelenos are bracing for a resurgence of strong winds Tuesday that could spread the fires further. Parts of the city, including the Pacific Palisades and Altadena, have suffered near-total destruction.

President Biden announced individual $770 payments to those affected.

• How will the fight over the debt limit play out?

The Hill’s Aris Folley has a helpful guide here with five potential outcomes, including default or the abolishment of the debt ceiling all together.

Default could be avoided if Republicans rally around “one big, beautiful bill,” or the debate could go down to the wire with the March deadline to fund the government.

• The election cycle never ends.

It will be an interesting two years on the campaign trail, with the House majority up for grabs.

In the upper chamber, Sen. Jon Ossoff’s (D-Ga.) first reelection bid will be expensive and hotly contested in a state that Trump has carried in two of the past three presidential election cycles.

Meanwhile, several Senate Republicans are bracing for potential primary challenges from the MAGA wing of the party. Trump’ involvement in those races is always a wild card.

💡Perspectives:

• The Hill: Trump fans the flames of Los Angeles wildfires.

• The Hill: The red state in California’s future.

• City Journal: California’s policies laid the groundwork for wildfire danger.

Read more: 

• A beloved hiking trail may hold the grim answers to Palisades fire.

• Senate advances Laken Riley bill past second hurdle.

• Senate Democrat plans legislation to delay TikTok ban.

Did I miss a story? Drop me a line. Follow TheHill.com for the latest and recommend us to others: TheHill.com/Evening. See you next time.