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A man who was once admonished by his own mother for his mistreatment of women should not be in charge of the Pentagon. A man who reportedly left jobs at nonprofit veterans organizations because of his public misbehavior should not oversee the world’s largest military.
These traits are raising alarm bells for senators who must weigh in on President-elect Donald Trump’s choices of people to head cabinet agencies, including the Department of Defense, which has a long history of failing to stop sexual abuse in the military. Even Trump, who has faced his own list of problematic allegations — and even criminal and civil rulings against him — may be starting to recognize the gravity of mounting reports involving one of his nominees.
In recent days, we have learned a lot more about Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice to head the Defense Department. According to numerous news outlets, the former Fox News anchor who served Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay with the National Guard, has a record of troubling behavior, especially toward women, that should disqualify him from overseeing the U.S. military.
Concerns about Hegseth began to grow late last month when it was revealed that he had been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in California in 2017. No charges were brought, but Hegseth later secretly paid the woman to settle the matter so he would not lose his job at Fox, his lawyer said.
Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, a survivor of sexual assault, has been a vocal critic of the military’s handling of sexual abuse in the ranks. She sponsored bipartisan legislation to prevent sexual assault in the military and to hold perpetrators responsible.
Ernst, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee that will consider Hegseth’s nomination, said the allegations against Hegseth merit “discussion.” She also wants Hegseth to explain his comments that women should not serve in combat jobs, Politico reported.
“Any time there are allegations, you want to make sure they are properly vetted, so we’ll have that discussion,” Ernst said.
North Dakota Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer, also a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has also expressed reservations about Hegseth.
“Well, it’s a pretty big problem, given that we have … a sexual assault problem in our military,” he told NBC News last week.
“This is why you have background checks, this is why you have hearings, this is why you have to go through the scrutiny,” Cramer continued. “I’m not going to pre-judge him, but yeah, it’s a pretty concerning accusation.”
The allegations against Hegseth have only gotten more concerning. Citing a whistleblower report and other documents that it obtained, the New Yorker reported this week that Hegseth had to step down from leading two nonprofit veterans organizations because of incidents of drunken misbehavior, sexual impropriety and financial mismanagement. In addition, the report says that, under Hegseth’s leadership, Concerned Veterans for America became a hostile workplace that ignored serious allegations of impropriety, including allegations of sexual assault.
Hegseth, who was married to his second wife at the time, regularly tried to “hook up” with women on the road, a whistleblower said, according to the New Yorker. Members of the U.S. military can be court martialed for adultery.
A lawyer for Hegseth dismissed the allegations as coming from “a petty and jealous disgruntled former associate.” However, the whistleblower report makes clear that the allegations came from numerous people at Concerned Veterans for America.
Separately, The New York Times this weekend reported that Hegseth’s mother sent him a scathing email in 2018 condemning his long-term abuse of women.
“It’s time for someone (I wish it was a strong man) to stand up to your abusive behavior and call it out, especially against women,” Penelope Hegseth wrote. “We still love you, but we are broken by your behavior and lack of character.”
She described his abusive behavior over the years as “dishonesty, sleeping around, betrayal, debasing, belittling” women.
“On behalf of all the women (and I know it’s many) you have abused in some way, I say … get some help and take an honest look at yourself,” his mother wrote in the email, which was written when Pete Hegseth was going through a contentious divorce from his second wife, whom he cheated on with his now third wife.
Hegseth’s mother told the paper that she regretted sending the email and had apologized to her son.
Hegseth, of course, is entitled to a full and open hearing about his background and all of these allegations. However, what we’ve learned in recent days paints a grim picture of a man who mistreats and belittles women.
Such a man should not be in charge of any federal agency, but especially one that has so much work to do to root out sexual violence and to become a supportive and welcoming workplace for women.
