Awkward exchanges about the defense secretary hopeful’s past were plentiful as Democrats went after the first embattled Trump pick to face a confirmation hearing.

Democrats of the Senate Armed Services Committee called Peter Hegseth, president-elect Donald J. Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, unfit to serve. Meanwhile, Republicans praised Mr. Hegseth’s record and performance.

At his confirmation hearing, the defense-secretary nominee looked like a man who understood that the fix was in.

During his confirmation hearing, Trump’s Defense Secretary nominee couldn’t name a single member of the Southeast Asian bloc.

The 10-nation bloc, known as ASEAN, has been useful for the United States in countering China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific. Many member nations have territorial disputes with China, which has become increasingly assertive in pressing those claims.