Former Defense secretary: Women 'vital' in combat

Former Defense Secretary William Cohen underscored the importance of having women in the military, including in combat roles, as President-elect Trump's pick for Defense secretary has come under fire for suggesting women should be removed from certain military positions.

"Women in combat today, they are vital to our defense, and it's not as if we're having Gladiator 2 types of confrontation, but rather, we have women who are high-performing aircraft pilots... they're sailing our ships, they're flying our helicopters. They're engaged in combat in every sense of the word," Cohen, who served under the Clinton administration, told CNN's Jim Sciutto on Saturday.

Cohen added that he thinks Trump's pick, Pete Hegseth, could face an uphill battle during the Senate confirmation hearing for the Defense secretary position over his remarks about pulling women out of combat roles.

"I think to pull them out would be something that would be of concern to the United States Senate during the confirmation," Cohen added.

Cohen also suggested that women should take on key roles related to cybersecurity within the military.

"We need to have women assume critical areas of responsibility in our war-fighting capability. And the wars now are fought more on Apple computer boards than they are in terms of on the battlefield themselves [...] we're fighting a different kind of war today, and women are critical to that."

Hegseth's confirmation is also complicated by sexual assault allegations leveled against him, though many GOP senators are projecting optimism that he will be confirmed.