Did Senator Elissa Slotkin ask Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth where his Bible was when he "banged your Fox producer while married to another woman"? No, that's not true: The quote shared on social media is a made-up meme. The official transcript and a recording of the exchange between Slotkin and Hegseth do not include the purported quote about the Bible or Hegseth's personal life.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on Facebook on June 21, 2025. The text in the image read:
During his questioning by Sen. Elissa Slotkin Pete Hegseth told her 'Be careful what you read in books, unless it's the Bible.' Quick response Sen Elissa Slotkin asks, Mr. Secretary, where was the Bible when you banged your Fox producer while married to another woman? Did you leave it at home.
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot by Lead Stories)
The shared image included pictures of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (archived here) and Senator Elissa Slotkin (archived here) as they appeared at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on June 18, 2025 (archived here).
However, Slotkin's response to Hegseth bringing up the Bible was different, as seen on page 127 of the official transcript (archived here):
Secretary Hegseth: Senator, I would be careful what you read in books and believing it, except for the Bible.
Senator Slotkin: Oh, my God. So your former predecessor, I guess that is not enough for you.
Slotkin had mentioned a book by a previous defense secretary just before Hegseth's remark about the Bible.
A video recording of the exchange confirms that Slotkin did not say what the meme attributed to her.
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Other Lead Stories fact checks about politics are here.
