Sen. Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota) sounded optimistic Thursday about President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth. This is a positive development given his reported skepticism.
“Pete Hegseth, in my opinion, helped a lot in getting my full support today. But I want him to be able to answer the questions that are there in front of everyone else. ,” he told reporters.
“I certainly see a path to success for him to be accepted into the Senate in this role, but he has more work to do…I think he can do it,” Lowndes said. I think a public hearing will help.” '' CNN reported.
Mr. Rounds is one of 14 Republican senators who reportedly had concerns about Mr. Hegseth before his meeting with him.
As is customary for Cabinet nominees approved by the Senate, Hegseth is meeting privately with senators ahead of his confirmation hearing scheduled for next month.
Hegseth began meeting with senators last week and has spent every day this week meeting with them so far.
Over the past few weeks, there has also been a flurry of hits aimed at Mr. Hegseth's nomination, based on unconfirmed claims from anonymous sources dating back a decade. Recent smears have accused Hegseth of having a drinking problem and mismanagement of two organizations he led, but dozens of people who worked with Hegseth have come forward to refute these allegations. He disputes that it is a fabrication.
Nevertheless, the hit record has caused some Republican senators to withhold support for Hegseth and float other potential candidates.
But within 48 hours, Hegseth began fighting back in interviews and newspaper op-eds. wall street journalPresident Trump has repeatedly expressed support for him, with dozens of conservative media figures throwing their weight behind him, and even more senators chiming in.
Follow Christina Wong's “X” on Breitbart News. society of truth,or facebook.
