Trump defends Hegseth as his path to confirmation remains uncertain
President-elect Donald Trump expressed support for Pete Hegseth Friday, more forcefully rallying behind his embattled pick for defense secretary after allegations about Hegseth’s private behavior left many Republicans questioning whether he could win Senate confirmation.
“Pete Hegseth is doing very well,” Trump posted Friday on Truth Social. “His support is strong and deep, much more so than the Fake News would have you believe. He was a great student - Princeton/Harvard educated - with a Military state of mind. He will be a fantastic, high energy, Secretary of Defense … one who leads with charisma and skill. Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!”
Trump doubled down on his support for Hegseth hours later in an interview on “Meet the Press,” during which he told host Kristen Welker that, although “people were a little bit concerned” about Hegseth’s path to confirmation, he has confidence in him.
Trump said he hasn’t gotten assurances from senators that Hegseth will win confirmation.
Hegseth’s path to becoming defense secretary appeared increasingly tenuous this week amid reports that Trump was eyeing possible replacements, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). The New Yorker on Sunday reported that Hegseth was forced to leave two nonprofit veterans groups he led over “allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety, and personal misconduct.”
Hegseth’s lawyer dismissed the story, calling the allegations “outlandish.” That story followed reports that Hegseth paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault as part of a settlement. Hegseth has denied the woman’s allegations and on Thursday, his attorney told CNN he may sue the woman if Hegseth doesn’t get the role.
Tim Parlatore, Hegseth’s attorney, said that during the 2017 encounter, Hegseth was so “visibly intoxicated” that it enabled the woman to be the “aggressor.” Allegations of excessive drinking have followed Hegseth’s career over the years, from the mid-2000s after he deployed to Iraq with an Army infantry unit to the 2010s when he was running nonprofits and then emerging as a Fox News media star. As Hegseth’s nomination faltered this week, some senators questioned whether he was fit to lead the nation’s military given his past relationship with alcohol.
Trump brushed aside those concerns Friday during his interview with Welker, which will air Sunday on NBC.
“I’ve spoken to people that know him very well,” the president-elect said on “Meet the Press,” “and they say he does not have a drinking problem.”
Until Friday, Trump had largely left Hegseth to defend himself and had not made a public statement about his possible confirmation fight. Hegseth responded on X, writing: “Thank you Mr. President. Like you, we will never back down.” Vice President-elect JD Vance also defended Hegseth, posting on X on Friday that “led by President Trump, we’re fighting for Pete Hegseth.”
Some Republican senators said this week that Trump had not spoken to them about Hegseth. One Republican close to Trump predicted Thursday that Hegseth’s only path forward was to show Trump he was fighting for the nomination. “We’re fighting all the way,” Hegseth told reporters Thursday, vowing not to allow his possible nomination to be “tried in the media.”
Hegseth spent the week meeting with Republican senators but has yet to win support from key members of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Privately, some Republicans on Capitol Hill were skeptical that Hegseth will have the votes for confirmation.
Hegseth said this week that he would continue pursuing the nomination unless Trump asked him not to. He has doubled down on his claims that the accusations against him are untrue and a “witch hunt” by the media, and said Trump told him: “You’re my guy.”
Among the key senators Hegseth will probably need to win over is Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a military veteran and survivor of sexual assault who sits on the Armed Services Committee. After meeting with Hegseth, Ernst said in a Fox News interview on Thursday that he did not yet have her support.
On Friday, Ernst said in a post on the social media site X that she had spoken with Hegseth and planned to continue her “constructive conversations” with him next week after already agreeing that he at least “deserves the opportunity to lay out his vision for our warfighters at a fair hearing.”
Hegseth’s attorney told CNN on Thursday that he may sue the woman who accused Hegseth of sexual assault if Hegseth is not confirmed as defense secretary and accused her of extorting a settlement from Hegseth.
The woman threatened litigation in 2020, so Hegseth paid her in a settlement agreement, Parlatore said. On Thursday evening, Parlatore alleged that her pursuit of the settlement met the definition of civil extortion in California.
Parlatore also claimed the settlement agreement with the accuser was violated when the woman’s friend publicized her accusations. He repeated that claim in an interview with The Washington Post on Friday. The woman has not publicly come forward; instead, her friend reported the case to the Trump transition team. Other details in the case have come from police records.
Parlatore said the woman was free to speak out but threatened to bring a defamation lawsuit against her if she does.
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Paul Kane contributed to this report.