This is part of Hello, Trumpworld, Slate’s reluctant guide to the people who will be calling the shots now—at least for as long as they last in Washington.

Hegseth has said this tattoo, which has been associated with extremist groups, prevented him from serving as a member of the National Guard at President Joe Biden's inauguration.

Pete Hegseth defended his chest tattoo as a standard Christian symbol, not an extremist symbol. “I was identified as an extremist by my own unit for a Christian tattoo,” he said. The tattoo in question was “Deus Vult,

It’s hard to find strong enough adjectives to describe the unmitigated disaster the senate hearing on Pete Hegseth truly was. Even the few Republicans who had expressed previous concerns about his nomination for Secretary of Defense handled him with kid gloves.

I’m Embarrassed’ By Dem Questioning Of You At Tuesday's Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing, Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) questioned Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump's nominee to be Secretary of Defense.

But did this happen at the Pete Hegseth hearings in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee this week? If you thought those kinds of questions would dominate the hearings, you must be living under the illusion that we live in a serious country.

CNN's political commentators Scott Jennings and Karen Finney join CNN's Dana Bash to give their takeaways of Pete Hegseth's Senate confirmation hearing. DANA BASH: Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's pick to run the Department of Defense,

Senators, especially Democratic members, grilled Hegseth over his record, his tattoos, and his views on women in the military.

Pete Hegseth has several tattoos on his bodies. While some are dedicated to his service in the military, others are related to his faith.

Critics of Trump's defense secretary nominee say the symbol has been adopted by extremist groups, including white supremacists.

Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth will publicly face senators on Tuesday for the first time after weeks of privately pushing back on criticism over his qualifications and personal past.

The Democrats’ refusal to question Hegseth over his fascist politics underscores that their priority is not the defense of democratic rights against a military-backed Trump dictatorship but the continuation of the war against Russia in Ukraine and the preparation of new wars against Iran in the Middle East and against China.