On Wednesday, December 4, 2024, in Washington, Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary nominee of President-elect Donald Trump, is accompanied by his spouse, Jennifer Rauchet, as they go through the Capitol’s basement. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)AP
Washington Donald Trump, the president-elect, publicly endorsed Pete Hegseth, his troubled pick to head the Defense Department, on Friday. The Senate is debating Hegseth’s confirmation due to charges of excessive drinking, sexual assault, and his opinions on women in combat.
He spent a large portion of the week on Capitol Hill attempting to save his Cabinet candidacy and privately reassure Republican senators that he is qualified to run Trump’s Pentagon. Hegseth is a combat veteran, former Fox News host, and Army National Guard major.
Trump wrote on his social media platform that Pete Hegseth is doing great. He is going to be an amazing, dynamic Secretary of Defense. The president went on to say that there is nothing that can be done to change the fact that Pete is a winner!
In addition to being a dispute over who should be in charge of the Pentagon, the intense nomination contest over Hegseth is also a turning point for the MAGA movement, which seems to be enjoying a public spat over its hardline demands for a more masculine military and an end to the woke-ism of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
Trump’s supporters are fiercely supporting the beleaguered Hegseth, and the political arm of the Heritage Foundation is pledging to invest $1 million to support his candidacy. He also promises to continue fighting as long as the president-elect wants him to.
As he traveled North Carolina after the hurricane, Vice-President-elect JD Vance declared, “We’re not abandoning this nomination.”
According to Vance, Pete Hegseth will have his hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee rather than a phony hearing in front of the American media. He stated that he believes Hegseth will be confirmed after speaking with Republican senators. He has our full support.
The endeavor has turned into a test of Trump’s influence and the extent to which Republican senators who are wary of his choices would remain loyal to the president-elect. Former congressman Matt Gaetz, Trump’s initial pick for attorney general, and Florida sheriff Chad Chronister, Trump’s first pick to head the Drug Enforcement Administration, have both resigned in the face of heavy scrutiny.
As part of a full-court MAGA press conference on Friday, Donald J. Trump Jr., the president’s son, also expressed support for Hegseth.
You may be in the wrong party if you are a Republican senator who supported Lloyd Austin but disparages @PeteHegseth! He made reference to President Joe Biden’s defense secretary in his post on X.
“Like you, we will never back down,” Hegseth wrote on social media to thank the president-elect for the support.
Even as his professional opinions on female troops have also come under increasing scrutiny, Hegseth has assured MPs that he has never committed in sexual misconduct and pledged not to drink while working. As recently as last month, he declared that women just should not fight.
Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama, a Republican, gave him one significant endorsement. Her backing was viewed as a potentially forceful counterbalance to the less enthusiastic greeting Hegseth had received from Sen. Joni Ernst, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Army National Guard.
enormous. We appreciate Katie’s leadership. Vance made a social media post.
Ernst, a survivor of sexual assault herself, refrained from endorsing Hegseth following their meeting last week. Ernst wrote on X on Friday that while the process progresses, she and Hegseth will keep having fruitful discussions. She promised to see him again the following week.
“We at least agree that he should have a fair hearing to present his vision for our warfighters,” she wrote.
According to a person familiar with Trump’s thinking who was not permitted to speak publicly, he released the statement on Friday in response to reports that he had lost faith in Hegseth.
Hegseth’s performance this week reaffirms why he was selected, and the president-elect and his team have been happy to see him fighting, the source said. They think he is still verifiable.
Trump’s team thinks that if Hegseth loses, it will encourage others to promote what they see as vile lies about every candidate Trump selects.
However, if Hegseth’s candidacy fails, Trump’s transition team has been considering other candidates, such as former presidential challenger Ron DeSantis of Florida.
According to an individual familiar with the Florida governor’s plans who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss them prior to a public announcement, DeSantis intends to accompany Trump to the Army-Navy football game on December 14.
Additionally, according to people familiar with the situation, DeSantis and Trump discussed the defense secretary position when they met Tuesday at a memorial service for sheriff deputies in West Palm Beach, Florida. The governor was open to the idea, and Trump expressed interest in DeSantis for the position.
As Marco Rubio becomes secretary of state, DeSantis is also likely to choose a replacement for the Senate seat, and people close to Trump believe that Lara Trump, Trump’s daughter-in-law, is the best candidate.
Hegseth has been pushing for private meetings on Capitol Hill for a week, but senators are resisting because of concerns about his past, particularly the fact that he paid a settlement after being accused of sexual assault, which he denies.
The New Yorker referenced what it called a whistleblower report and other documents regarding his tenure as the head of Concerned Veterans for America, a veterans advocacy group, which claimed he was frequently intoxicated at work functions, behaved inappropriately around female employees, and mismanaged finances.
After he pregnant his current wife while still married to his second wife, his mother Penelope challenged him about mistreating women in an email that the New York Times was able to receive from her in 2018. This week, she defended her son on Fox & Friends.
Senator Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., a Trump ally, claimed that senators are evaluating Pete based on his current character.
The increasingly heated dispute is similar to the political and cultural conflicts that erupted around Trump’s selection of Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court during his first term in office.
Republican support for Kavanaugh transformed a wave of resistance into a more tolerant perception of the Supreme Court nominee as the victim of a liberal-led smear campaign. Kavanaugh had also been accused of sexual assault, which he vehemently denied. In the end, he received confirmation.
In particular, Hegseth seemed to make some headway with Republicans who had voiced reservations about the reports of his drinking, even if he was still battling for Senate votes.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., stated that she would not rely her choice on anonymous sources when it came to Pete Hegseth’s nomination.
Regarding the accusations against Hegseth, Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota stated, “I have no reason to doubt him any more than believe somebody else.”
However, Cramer said he was free to reconsider. It will be instructive to do a background check.
He went a long way to win Hegseth’s support, but Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., stated after their meeting that he wanted to see how he performed in a hearing.
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!