Trump's Pentagon nominee Hegseth pushes ahead amid doubts

President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the US Department of Defence, Pete Hegseth, pushed ahead on Wednesday with his bid for the job amid doubts in Congress over allegations about his personal and professional life.

Two sources familiar with internal Trump team deliberations said the Republican has been considering Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for the defence secretary role should Hegseth falter. A third source confirmed Trump and DeSantis had spoken about the Pentagon and that DeSantis was considering it.

Recommended For You

Elon Musk's SpaceX to raise over $25 billion in blockbuster 2026 IPO, source says

Philippine VP Sara Duterte slapped by plunder, graft charges over confidential funds

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 tickets on sale at historic low prices

When Arab opera meets Shaolin Kung Fu: A cross-cultural 'Antar & Abla' debuts in Abu Dhabi

Bahrain announces public holidays for National Day and Accession of King Hamad

 

Hegseth was meeting on Wednesday with Republican senators whose support he would need to secure the job running the sprawling US military, a jump for a former Fox News host and former National Guard officer.

"I'm doing this for the warfighters, not the warmongers," Hegseth wrote on X. "Our warriors never back down, & neither will I."

But his nomination was facing headwinds.

"I have some very real concerns about some things that have come out recently and I want to ask him about that," said Republican US Senator Lisa Murkowski.

Hegseth is not the first Trump Cabinet pick to run into difficulties. Former congressman Matt Gaetz dropped his bid for attorney general last month in the face of questions among Senate Republicans about alleged sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old girl and drug use. Gaetz has denied wrongdoing.

Trump's pick to head the Drug Enforcement Administration, Chad Chronister, dropped his bid on Tuesday after pushback from some Republicans for the Florida sheriff's actions during the early days of the Covid pandemic.

Trump said on Wednesday on social media of Chronister, "he didn't pull out. I pulled him out."

'HARD QUESTIONS'

U.S. Senator John Thune, who will lead the party's 53-47 majority next year, told reporters he would meet with Hegseth later on Wednesday, as would other Senate Republicans.

"He's going to have an opportunity to address all the questions that have been raised, and there are some hard questions being raised. So he'll have to answer those," Thune said.

Hegseth was also set to meet with Republican Senator Joni Ernst, a military veteran and sexual assault survivor, on Wednesday. That talk is seen as key to his prospects, according to a person familiar with the process.

Hegseth has another Wednesday meeting scheduled with Republican Senator Roger Wicker, who is in line to chair the Armed Services Committee next year.

A wave of media reports has raised questions about Hegseth.

Hegseth has denied allegations made in a police report that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017 at a conference in California. The woman said that while drinking with colleagues, she may have been drugged and was then sexually assaulted by a man she later identified as Hegseth, according to the report.

No charges were filed, and he entered into a private settlement with the alleged victim.

NBC News cited 10 current and former Fox employees in a report on Tuesday that Hegseth's drinking of alcohol concerned co-workers at the television network, including showing up at work smelling of alcohol and talking about being hung over.

The New York Times last month reported on an email Hegseth's mother wrote him in 2018 in which she accused him of mistreating women, including lying, cheating, sleeping around and using women for “his own power and ego.”

Hegseth's mother told the Times in an interview that she had sent Hegseth an immediate follow-up email at the time apologizing for what she had written and that she “disavows the sentiments she had expressed in the initial email about his character and treatment of women.”

On Sunday the New Yorker, citing documents and accounts of former colleagues, reported that Hegseth was forced to step down by the two nonprofit advocacy groups he ran after “serious allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety, and personal misconduct.”

The article said Hegseth's lawyer declined to comment on the claims, which he described as “outlandish.”

Hegseth did not respond to a request for comment sent through the Trump transition office. Trump's transition team did not respond to a request for comment. A DeSantis representative also did not respond to a request for comment.

One top Trump ally, Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, on Tuesday called the allegations against Hegseth "very disturbing."

One Trump insider told Reuters that Trump could also turn to Representative Mike Waltz, his choice for White House national security adviser, to head the Pentagon. CNN, citing unnamed sources, said Ernst could also be in the running for the job.