Trump’s pick for defense secretary falters on ASEAN countries question

Pete Hegseth, US President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for defense secretary, struggled to name the members of the ASEAN during his Senate confirmation hearing.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth asked Hegseth, 44, to name any country in the Southeast Asian bloc on Tuesday, describe US agreements with the group and the number of member countries.

"I couldn't tell you the exact amount of nations in that, but I know we have allies in South Korea, and Japan, and in AUKUS with Australia, (we) work on submarines with them," Hegseth replied.

Duckworth interrupted him and said: "None of those three countries are in ASEAN," and advised Hegseth to "do a little homework" before future negotiations.

ASEAN has 10 member countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The US regularly conducts joint military exercises with member states. The ASEAN region is home to more than 700 million people, spans 4.5 million square kilometers (1.7 million square miles) and recorded a GDP of $3.62 trillion in 2022.

Duckworth, a Democrat from the state of Illinois, later told CNN she was "flabbergasted" by Hegseth's inability to answer what she described as a "very simple question," noting that he had emphasized the importance of the Indo-Pacific region in his opening statement.

She criticized Hegseth's qualifications as "unfit" for defense secretary.

After Trump the now-former Fox News host, for defense secretary, his nomination was marred by scandals, including accusations of sexual misconduct, excessive drinking and financial mismanagement of a nonprofit.

Hegseth has denied the allegations.