Republican senators dismissed accusations of sexual assault and other offenses against Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for defense secretary, during their meeting with him on Monday.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming, praised Hegseth’s leadership skills at the Defense Department and referred to the accusations as a side matter.
Once more, they’re making derogatory comments about someone who has gained a lot of credibility. Do soldiers occasionally act like crazy kids? When asked if the accusations worry her, Lummis responded, “Yeah, that can happen,” but it’s obvious that Pete Hegseth is the solution to the issue at a time when Americans are losing faith in their own military and our capacity to project power globally.
For less than an hour on Monday, Hegseth met behind closed doors in the Capitol with ten to twelve senators from the Republican Steering Committee, a group of conservative senators chaired by Mike Lee of Utah.
Since being selected as Trump’s choice to head the Defense Department, Hegseth, a former Fox News anchor and veteran of the Army National Guard, has been accused of a number of misconduct charges; he has denied any wrongdoing. Most recently, the details of a previously secret 2015 whistleblower report from a veterans’ organization Hegseth oversaw were made public by a New Yorker article published on Sunday. The report alleged that Hegseth was frequently drunk at work.
The information has not been independently confirmed by NBC News. Hegseth’s lawyer remained silent. An adviser told The New Yorker that the accusations were ridiculous and that the source was a jealous, nasty, and angry former colleague.
NBC News was directed by the Trump transition team to an earlier statement endorsing Hegseth. When NBC News yelled questions regarding the New Yorker article and other accusations, Hegseth did not answer.
After the discussion, senators downplayed the charges and vowed to back Hegseth wholeheartedly.
Since I’ve known Pete for a long time, I’ve always had a good experience with him. Sen. Rick Scott, a Republican from Florida, stated, “I think he’s clearly committed to making sure we have a lethal military that scares the crap out of our enemies, is respected by our allies, and is somebody that our allies can rely on.”
Lee stated that the senators talked about Hegseth’s plan for the Pentagon but did not specify whether they had raised any of the accusations with him.
Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, claimed that the media was fixated on personal accusations made against Hegseth and informed reporters that each Cabinet nominee would undergo a background check, possibly not from the FBI. This is a new point of contention among lawmakers, as some Republicans argue that the FBI shouldn’t be in charge of conducting the background checks, which is against standard procedure.
According to official records of a police inquiry released last month, a lady told police that Hegseth had sexually assaulted her in 2017 following a Republican women’s convention in California. Hegseth was not charged and has refuted the allegations.He admitted to having made a settlement payment of an undisclosed sum to his accuser.
The New York Times revealed last week that during his acrimonious divorce in 2018, Hegseth’s mother emailed him, accusing him of abusing women. She later apologized to the Times for the email, which NBC News has not been able to obtain.
“It is shameful but not surprising that the NYT is publishing a story about one out of context snippet from an illegally obtained private conversation between a mother and her son,” read a statement from the Trump transition team, which Hegseth’s attorney handed along despite his refusal to comment. This exercise’s sole goal is to discredit Mr. Hegseth.
Cruz called the New York Times piece “shameful” in an interview with reporters on Monday following the meeting with Hegseth.
In spite of his earlier remarks that women shouldn’t serve, senators also noted Hegseth’s capacity to increase military recruitment and retention rates among young men and women. Lummis stated that she is not concerned by those remarks when questioned about them.
I think he might reconsider that if he finds some female jet pilots who are, you know, the finest of the best, she added.
Hegseth stated last month in a podcast interview that women shouldn’t be permitted to serve on the front lines since their presence has complicated combat.
Hegseth stated last month on The Shawn Ryan Show podcast, “I’m just saying that we shouldn’t have women in combat roles.”Female veterans and service members quickly reacted negatively to his comments.
A request for response on the Republican senators’ comments was not immediately answered by the Trump transition team.
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