Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, was questioned about ASEAN during a heated Senate confirmation and struggled with his response.

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

In a heated Senate confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseth, Sen. Tammy Duckworth grilled the proposed defense secretary over the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, asking him if he could name one member and how many countries were in the bloc.

A man was carried out of Pete Hegseth's Senate confirmation hearing after cutting off Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of defense, screaming, "You are a misogynist!" The former Fox News anchor and Army National Guard combat veteran testified in front of the Senate in an explosive hearing that rehashed some of the foul allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking that loomed over his appointment to the role.

Hegseth responded at the heated Senate confirmation hearing that he couldn’t tell Duckworth the exact number of ASEAN nations, but that “I know we have allies in South Korea and Japan in AUKUS (a pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S.) with Australia.”

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, has publicly faced senators for the first time.

Even though Trump has not officially been inaugurated, the Senate can confirm cabinet members before his Oath of Office.

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.