Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Defense, met Wednesday with several Republican senators on Capitol Hill. As escalating concerns over sexual assault allegations and reports about his professional behavior threaten to derail his confirmation, Hegseth is looking to shore up their much-needed support through face-to-face meetings.
Prior to his midweek appearance on The Hill, Hegseth had already participated in some more friendly discussions with lawmakers, gaining endorsements from Trump’s key allies on Capitol Hill like Senators Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rick Scott, R-Fla.
But on Wednesday, Hegseth faced a tougher slate of conversations as he sat down with senators who are viewed as more skeptical about his fitness for the role.
The former National Guard officer and Fox Television personality most recently met with Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., incoming Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa and several have them have raised concerns about supporting his appointment.
Ahead of his morning meeting with Hegseth, Cramer told Medill News Service that the allegations against Trump’s pick were “very, very serious” and added that “they can’t be trivialized.” Cramer didn’t rule out supporting Hegseth, but he hoped the meeting would reveal “that he’s redeemed… and going forward, he’s going to be better.”
While various media outlets reported on the growing uncertainty surrounding his appointment, Hegseth remained optimistic. “I spoke to the president this morning,” he said after meeting with Thune. “He supports me fully. We’re not going anywhere.”
Hegseth met later in the day with Ernst. As both a veteran and a survivor of sexual assault, many Republican senators said they’re tracking her support to get a pulse on the likelihood of his confirmation.
After chatting with Hegseth, Ernst declined to provide details about their conversation, instead citing her own earlier tweet, which described their discussion as “frank and thorough.” She stopped shy of indicating whether she would support his confirmation.
In addition to meeting with senators, Hegseth penned an Op-ed for the Wall Street Journal in defense of his track record, which was published on Wednesday.
“The press is peddling anonymous story after anonymous story, all meant to smear me and tear me down,” Hegseth wrote. “They need to create a bogeyman, because they believe I threaten their institutional insanity. That is the only thing they are right about.”
In the piece, the Fox co-host and combat veteran reiterated that he looks forward to an honest confirmation hearing.
In an effort to ease concerns over the allegations against him, Hegseth also told his critics to review an earlier interview where he explained why he chose to pay a settlement to a woman involved in a legal case against him on Fox News host Megyn Kelly’s SiriusXM radio show.
In that interview, Hegseth said that he settled in order to protect his family and that he had hoped to keep them away from unwanted public attention caused by his high-profile position. Hegseth also denied accusations of raping a woman in California in 2017 and rejected other claims that he has a drinking problem during that conversation.
“I did it to protect my wife, I did it to protect my family, and I did it to protect my job, and it was a negotiation,” he said in the interview.
Later in the day, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told reporters that what was supposed to be a Thursday meeting with Hegseth had suddenly been cancelled and had not yet been rescheduled.
Meanwhile, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said she still has a meeting planned for Tuesday and she intends on asking Hegseth not only about the sexual assault allegations, but also about his past remarks regarding women serving in combat roles.
If Hegseth withdraws his name from consideration, he would become the second of Trump’s cabinet picks to do so due to concerns regarding sexual misconduct. Former Congressman Matt Gaetz previously exited after similar meetings with senators due to concerns related to the contents of an unreleased House Ethics report and allegations that he had paid a 17-year-old for sex. Gaetz has denied the allegations.
Some Republicans suggested that Trump’s remaining cabinet selections will face smoother paths to confirmation.
“I think there’s going to be deference to Trump being able to get a team put together that he feels comfortable with,” Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., said.
As Indiana’s incoming governor, Braun will not have a vote in January’s confirmation hearings, but he described Hegseth’s path as “difficult” from the start, given the potential conflict between the sexual assault allegations against him and the military’s ongoing efforts to address sexual violence.
“Sometimes when you’re climbing a mountain so steep, you’re going to probably slide back,” Braun said.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that if Hegseth withdraws, Trump is considering Florida governor Ron DeSantis as his replacement. Other reports indicate that Ernst could be another potential option.
Ernst previously served in the Iowa National Guard and spent 12 months in Kuwait during the Iraq War. She currently sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“She’d be easy to confirm,” Cramer said. “If she wanted it, she’d be my first pick.”
Jonas Kalderon Blum and Coby Potischman contributed to this reporting
