Close Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the 12:30 Report newsletter Subscribe {beacon} 12:30 REPORT It’s Tuesday. My TikTok feed is a mix of Spencer Pratt’s viral videos after losing his house to the wildfires, as well as snide goodbyes to the platform, which is set to be banned in the U.S. in just five days. Here’s what’s happening in Washington today: Pete Hegseth testifies.Hegseth claims there is a “smear campaign” against him.Two senators reportedly declined to meet with Hegseth’s accuser. TikTok users are flocking to another Chinese app called RedNote.A Senate Democrat introduced a temporary off-ramp for the TikTok ban.Celebrities announce postponements due to the wildfires.   I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to [email protected]. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.   🎙️ News Of The Morning   Off to the races:©  The Hill, Greg Nash Senate committees kicked off their Trump Cabinet confirmation hearings this morning with a whopper: Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary.   The former Fox News host and Army veteran has faced a series of scandals and damning media reports including allegations of sexual misconduct, excessive drinking and poor management.  💡 How is the hearing going?: Democrats are grilling Hegseth, but there haven’t been any moments to derail his nomination. Republicans have been friendly toward him. Heading into today, Democrats’ hopes of thwarting Trump’s nominees have quickly faded.  ➤  LET’S QUICKLY CATCH YOU UP ON THE HEARING: The most heated exchange: Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) went after Hegseth over his sexual assault allegations. 📹 Watch the clip   Hegseth slams a ‘coordinated smear campaign’: “What became very evident to us from the beginning — there was a coordinated smear campaign orchestrated in the media against us. That was clear from moment one,” Hegseth said during his confirmation hearing. “And what we knew is it wasn’t about me. Most of it was against President Donald Trump.” 📹 The scene outside the hearing room  Hegseth defended his past comments about women in the military: Hegseth said shortly before being tapped to lead to the Pentagon that “we should not have women in the combat roles.” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) mentioned these comments, to which Hegseth said he’s not talking about “the capabilities of men and women” but instead pointed to the “standards.” He did not clarify which standards he was referring to.   ^And said he would support women in combat: “Yes, women will have access to ground combat roles … given the standards remain high,” Hegseth said. 🔎 Read Hegseth’s full quote   Hegseth was interrupted by protesters: “You are a misogynist! You are a Christian fascist,” yelled an older man, one of at least three protesters removed from the room. 📹 Watch the protesters interrupt the hearing  Sen. Jack Reed (R.I.), the top Democrat on the committee, was blunt: “I do not believe that you are qualified to meet the overwhelming demands of this job. We must acknowledge the concerning public reports against you,” Reed said in a searing opening statement. 💻 Hearing livestream 🗨️ Live blog of hearing updates  ➤  WHAT’S HAPPENING BEHIND THE SCENES: The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer published a newsy read on “The Pressure Campaign to Get Pete Hegseth Confirmed as Defense Secretary.”  The gist of Mayer’s reporting: “Supporters of Donald Trump’s nominee have intimidated potential witnesses and suppressed the F.B.I. background check of the former Fox News host in the run-up to his Senate hearing.”  Some senators have declined to meet with Hegseth’s accuser — excerpt: “According to three sources with knowledge of the situation, Joni Ernst, Republican of Iowa, is one of the senators who have turned down offers to hear privately from Hegseth’s accuser. Ernst is a pro-Trump conservative on the Armed Services Committee, and her vote is seen as the linchpin to Hegseth’s confirmation, because she is both a military veteran and a survivor of sexual assault who has championed women’s rights. … Susan Collins, a moderate Republican from Maine, also declined an offer to meet with the alleged victim.”  ^ Keep in mind: Hegseth denies the allegations but paid a settlement to his accuser with a nondisclosure agreement. Tidbit about his drinking: “Hegseth ordered three gin-and-tonics at a weekday breakfast meeting with an acquaintance in Manhattan.”  RELATED: NBC News reported on Monday night that the FBI’s background check into Hegseth did not include an interview with his accuser.  ➤  ARE THERE OTHER CONFIRMATION HEARINGS TODAY?: No, the other two were postponed. But there are still more than a dozen confirmation hearings scheduled for the rest of the week.  📆 Full schedule of confirmation hearings this week⚖️ Trump’s Legal Battles  Show us what you’ve got, Jack: Special counsel Jack Smith says he had enough evidence to convict President-elect Trump in the election subversion case had he not won reelection in November. Smith released his final report early this morning, detailing his findings and defending his handling of the investigation.   The gist of the report: Smith said he had enough evidence to convict Trump in the Jan. 6 case related to obstructing the peaceful transfer of power. He also defended his investigations, saying his findings were free from political interference. The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch summed it up well: “It's not full of new evidence, but it's a telling look at Smith's thinking from a figure who's had to be🤐throughout the case.” 🔎 Read Jack Smith’s final report   Smith also broke his silence: He included a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, defending his decisions of the investigation: “To all who know me well, the claim from Mr. Trump that my decisions as a prosecutor were influenced or directed by the Biden administration or other political actors is, in a word, laughable.” Didn’t Trump block the release of this report?: No, Trump’s team tried to do so. They were successful in the separate classified documents case, which was also led by Smith, but not the Jan. 6 case.  How Trump reacted to the report: Trump slammed Smith, calling him a “lamebrain prosecutor.” That’s not an insult I hear much anymore. 🔎 Read Trump’s full Truth Social post  ➤  TIDBIT — FLAGS WON’T FLY HALF-STAFF ON INAUGURATION DAY: Flags have been flying half-staff for former President Carter’s death. Well, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced that Capitol flags will fly at full-staff on Inauguration Day and will then return to half-staff the day after. ➤  MORE READS: The New York Times: Elon Musk Is Expected to Use Office Space in the White House Complex The Wall Street Journal: MSNBC President Rashida Jones Departing as Cable Network Prepares for Comcast Spinoff The Washington Post: Trump’s legal peril has faded. Not so for some of his allies. The Atlantic: Should You Be Prepping for Trump?⏱️ The TikTok Ban  A temporary off-ramp for the TikTok ban?: Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) announced Monday that he is planning to introduce a bill to extend the deadline for Chinese company ByteDance to divest from the popular TikTok app by 270 days.  Timing: If nothing changes, TikTok will be banned from U.S. app stores beginning Sunday.  Keep in mind: The Supreme Court has yet to rule on the TikTok ban. Justices heard oral arguments on the case Friday — and seemed poised to uphold the ban. But we shall see. Read more from The Hill’s Miranda Nazzaro: ‘Senate Democrat plans legislation to delay TikTok ban’  Reporter's note: Your author’s husband works for Markey and is involved in the bill.  ➤  TRUMP WEIGHED IN ON TIKTOK:The president-elect said Monday that he had a “very good experience with TikTok.”  He told Newsmax: “We won young people, and I think that’s a big credit to TikTok, so I’m not opposed to TikTok.” 🔎 Read Trump’s full quote  ➤  TIDBIT: Bloomberg reported that ByteDance is considering selling TikTok’s U.S. operations to tech billionaire Elon Musk. But TikTok spokesperson Michael Hughes called that reporting “pure fiction.”   TikTok users are looking for a place to land:  Some TikTok users are flocking to another Chinese app in anticipation of Sunday’s ban.  The app for ‘TikTok refugees’: The app is called RedNote (or Xiaohongshu), which The Washington Post notes is “heavily censored and used almost exclusively by Chinese-speakers.” Read more from The Washington Post: ‘“TikTok refugees” flock to another (heavily censored) Chinese app’🐝 Internet Buzz  🥪 Every day’s a holiday: Today is National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day!  🛬 The airports are fighting: Dulles Airport and Tampa International Airport have been posting snarky messages toward each other after the Washington Commanders beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their NFL wild-card game. 🔎 Enjoy the back and forth   📺 Pop culture delays: Beyoncé postponed her Tuesday special announcement due to the California wildfires. Plus, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, delayed the Tuesday launch of her Netflix show until March 4. 📆 On The Agenda  The House and Senate are in. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington. (all times Eastern)   12:30 p.m.: Senators meet for weekly caucus meetings. 📆 Today’s agenda 2 p.m.: First and last House votes. 📆 Today’s agenda 5:30 p.m.: Biden delivers remarks on his conservation legacy and signs proclamations to establish the Chuckwalla National Monument and the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument in California. 💻 Livestream👋 And Finally…  Let’s end this on a light note: this horse could use a hobby. Stay Engaged  Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to [email protected]. A friend forward this to you? Subscribe here.   View past issues of 12:30 Report here and check out other newsletters from The Hill here. See you next time!