Trump's Defense pick Hegseth is under scrutiny. But he says he's 'not going anywhere'

Updated December 04, 2024 at 13:49 PM ET

WASHINGTON/WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump's pick to be defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, is struggling to build the necessary votes for Senate confirmation, bogged down by an avalanche of bad headlines.

While no GOP senator has explicitly said they will vote no, more than four — the number who could sink his nomination — have publicly expressed concerns. Several Republicans want to see more information in the form of a background check, talk to Hegseth directly about concerns, or see Hegseth respond to concerns in a public hearing.

Hegseth was slated to meet on Wednesday with the incoming Senate majority leader, John Thune. He was also planning to meet with Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst and North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer, according to a source familiar with the meetings but not authorized to speak on the record.

Hegseth told reporters on Capitol Hill that he had spoken with Trump on Wednesday. "He supports me fully," he said. "We're not going anywhere."

He is expected to face more tough questions as he continues his talks with lawmakers in the coming days. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, told reporters that she will "absolutely" ask Hegseth about the allegations.

"I think I would be remiss if I didn't speak about what everyone is speaking out," she said.

When asked if she would bring up his position on women in combat she said she would ask about that "and more."

But the public concerns are not universal. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said Hegseth addressed the allegations in their meeting and Wicker was "impressed with him and with his vision."

Hegseth did an interview. That's unusual during the confirmation process

The pick of Hegseth, 44, has been scrutinized in part because of his relative lack of experience. The post is usually filled by people who have served on Capitol Hill, in industry or in the highest ranks of the officer corps.

Usually, Cabinet nominees steer clear of media interviews until the confirmation process has ended. But Hegseth did an interview on Wednesday with "The Megyn Kelly Show" on SiriusXM where he said he wanted to fight back — and that he had Trump's support.

"What you're seeing right now with me is the art of the smear," he said, comparing himself to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who went through gueling confirmation hearings.

"Take whatever tiny kernels of truth — and there are tiny, tiny ones in there — and blow them up into a masquerade of a narrative about somebody that I am definitely not," he said.

He said he has never had a drinking problem or sought counseling for one.

One of a series of negative reports about Hegseth concerns a police report filed by a woman who accused him of sexual assault after a 2017 incident that involved a night of drinking.

Hegseth has denied the assault allegations, but secured a nondisclosure agreement and paid the woman in a settlement, his lawyer has confirmed.

Hegseth told Kelly he would forgo all alcohol if he is confirmed as defense secretary. "This is the biggest deployment of my life, and there won't be a drop of alcohol on my lips while I'm doing it," he said.

A former Fox colleague said Hegseth was 'handsy'

Hegseth came to national prominence as the host of "Fox & Friends Weekend."

A former colleague at Fox told NPR that Hegseth got "handsy" repeatedly while inebriated, once even groping her bottom at a Manhattan bar. She asked not to be identified for fear of retribution.

Hegseth's attorney, Timothy Parlatore, called the allegation a "false claim." Through a spokesperson, Fox told NPR that it had not received complaints about that accusation.

The allegation to NPR follows Tuesday's report by NBC that 10 current and former Fox colleagues allege that Hegseth drank alcohol at a concerning level.  

"The alleged anonymous claims cited by NBC have been thoroughly debunked by the numerous other Fox News employees who have spoken out on the record, using their names," Parlatore said. Hegseth's former co-host, Will Cain, is among those who stepped forward to vouch for his character.

What Hegseth's mother said on Fox News

On Wednesday, his mother, Penelope Hegseth, took the unusual step of going on "Fox & Friends" to make a plea for her son, speaking directly to the camera, saying she wanted to set the record straight about a damning email she sent to her son about his treatment of women.

The New York Times reported on Friday that Penelope Hegseth had called her son "an abuser of women" in an email she sent to him in 2018 while he was going through an acrimonious divorce with his second wife.

"I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years)," she said in that email, as published by The Times.

In her Fox News interview, Hegseth didn't dispute the veracity of the email, but she said it was sent in a fit of anger and that within hours she had retracted it and apologized to her son.

"It was a very emotional time," Hegseth said. "There's emotions. We say things, and I wrote that in haste. I wrote that with deep emotions. I wrote that as a parent."

Hegseth said she had asked to appear on the program to send a message to Trump — and to the senators in Washington whom her son was meeting with this week.

"He's a changed man and I just hope people will get to know who Pete is today, especially our dear female senators, that you would listen to him," she said in the interview.

Some of Trump's other picks are also facing scrutiny

Last month, Trump said he would nominate Matt Gaetz as attorney general. But that pick ran into a firestorm of criticism. After insisting that meetings with senators had gone well, he withdrew his name. Trump replaced him with Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general who had served on his first impeachment defense team.

Tuesday night, Trump's pick to head the Drug Enforcement Administration — Hillsborough County, Fla., Sheriff Chad Chronister — announced he had withdrawn from the process, saying that "as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in" he concluded he must step aside.

Trump said on social media on Wednesday that he had pulled Chronister's nomination because of an outcry from his supporters, and angrily pushed back against the idea that it represented a setback.

Hegseth continued meeting with senators on Wednesday. Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., told reporters in the Capitol on Wednesday that he had introduced Hegseth to Thune and said they "are having very good conversation" while he stepped out to vote.

Pressed about whether he asked Hegseth about the negative reports, Hagerty said, "all you're talking about are allegations."

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