As he underwent confirmation for the Pentagon’s second-highest position in 2017, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told lawmakers he was “aware of no incidents reflecting adversely” on his ability to do his job and had “never been party to any civil litigation,” USA Today reports.

“But at the time, he had only recently emerged from a contentious, years-long divorce, which is a civil court matter. His ex-wife had accused him in divorce filings and police records of punching her during a violent domestic battle in 2010.”