Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut cast doubt Tuesday on nominee Pete Hegseth’s ability to run the Department of Defense, pointing to claims of financial mismanagement when President-elect Donald Trump’s pick ran a pair of veterans’ groups.

Michigan's U.S. senators voted in committee against Trump's picks to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, and White House budget office, Russell Vought.

Pete Hegseth and other appointees of President-elect Donald Trump headed to the Senate this week for hearings. In particular Hegseth – tapped by Trump to lead the Department of Defense – faced scrutiny.

“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” a spokesperson for the agency said in a statement. “The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.”

Democrats have expressed concern over the delay and how thorough the report on Trump’s embattled defense secretary pick will be.

For the last 50 years, almost every nominee to lead the Pentagon has been a consensus pick who drew lopsided margins of support in the Senate. Pete Hegseth’s nomination has been a notable exception.

President Donald Trump is picking from his most loyal supporters as he creates his Cabinet and appoints others to key roles within his administration.

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.

Hegseth’s nomination: Pete Hegseth, President Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, survived a crucial procedural vote that moved his bid to the full Senate. Fifty-one Republicans supported advancing his nomination; Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski joined Democrats in opposition. A final vote is expected Friday evening. Read more ›

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The Trump cabinet is taking shape as Republicans rush to confirm key nominees, but Democrats are raising concerns about some of the picks and working to slow the process.