Republican senators say Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump's pick for Pentagon chief, admitted after a lawyer admitted that he paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017 to avoid a lawsuit. They seem to be giving him the benefit of the doubt.
Hegseth, a Fox News commentator who President Trump announced last week as his nominee for defense secretary, has denied allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017 and claimed he was the subject of blackmail.
But many Republican senators have already reacted with surprise to Hegseth's nomination, citing his lack of experience, and are refraining from commenting until after a full background check and hearing.
“We will look at each [nominee] individually,” Senate Armed Services Committee member Mike Rounds, RS.D., told The Hill. “Mr. President, we give you the benefit of the doubt, but we have done our due diligence and I think the public hearing process is something we all believe in.”
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told reporters: “Obviously there's going to be a full background check and a Senate committee investigation and a public hearing, which is standard.” spoke.
And Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said, “We're going to do what everyone should do on all of this.” [nominations] I mean, let's see what comes in. ”
Incoming Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), who will oversee Hegseth's confirmation process in January, would not speak to reporters Tuesday.
Over the past week, Republicans have largely deflected or downplayed questions about the Fox News host's ability as the civilian head of a government agency that oversees nearly 3 million military personnel and more than 700,000 civilian workers. .
Hegseth, a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, also said women should not serve in combat roles and suggested a purge of “woke” generals, including the firing of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. CQ Brown. This has drawn harsh scrutiny from the Democratic Party.
Trump's transition team says it was caught off guard by new allegations that surfaced last week that the Pentagon nominee sexually assaulted women, which he denies.
Police investigated the crime, which reportedly occurred at the Hyatt Regency in Monterey, California, in October 2017, but Hegseth was not charged. His lawyer acknowledged that Hegseth paid the woman who accused him of assault to settle a threatened lawsuit. Hegseth maintains the encounter was consensual.
Just four Republicans would need to defect to override Hegseth's nomination. Trump's transition team is secretly preparing a list of replacement candidates for secretary of defense. Vanity Fair reported.
Further complicating matters is Hegseth's past criticism of senators who are key to his confirmation.
He criticized Collins and Murkowski for “calling themselves Republicans and voting Democratic more often” after they voted against repealing Obamacare in 2017.
He also slammed Wicker on defense spending, arguing that Congress allocates too much money to the Pentagon.
“This is not a funding issue. The Department of Defense is not short on money. They have plenty of it,” Hegseth said on FOX's Laura Ingraham show in June.
Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, a junior senator from Ohio, is scheduled to lead Hegseth to a meeting with key Republican colleagues on Thursday.
Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa is among the Republicans demanding more answers.
“Whenever there's an allegation, we want to make sure it's properly vetted, so we're going to have that conversation,” she told Politico, adding that new sexual assault allegations require a “conversation.” he added.
Sen. Jack Reed (D.R.I.), the next-ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also declined Tuesday to offer his personal thoughts on Hegseth.
“I think it's after a thorough FBI background check, which is traditional for defense secretary candidates. And I think those results will have a big impact on everyone's decisions,” he told The Hill.
