How much trouble is Pete Hegseth facing in his bid to lead the Department of Defense?
“A lot,” as one GOP senator put it.
Despite Hegseth, a veteran and Fox News personality, zigzagging across the Capitol to meet with Republican lawmakers over his imperiled nomination, there are still significant doubts he’ll have the necessary support to be confirmed. Backup nominees are already being floated, like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, raising speculation that President-elect Donald Trump is ready to move on.
“That’s definitely how my colleagues are taking it,” said the GOP senator, granted anonymity to speak candidly. “That’s sending the signal to everybody here that Hegseth’s not likely to survive.”
Many GOP lawmakers won’t publicly say Hegseth is in trouble, but they’re noting Hegseth has issues to address. Hegseth is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017 but has not faced any charges. NBC News also reported that Hegseth’s cable news colleagues were concerned over his drinking habits.
He has denied sexual assault allegations and newly vowed to senators that he won’t drink if he’s confirmed, according to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the incoming chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee that will review Trump’s Pentagon picks.
“I think that’s probably a good idea,” Wicker told reporters. “You know, President Trump doesn’t drink.”
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said Hegseth has “got to address these accusations,” adding flatly he didn’t know if the votes were there to confirm the nominee. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters she plans to meet with Hegseth next week and has questions about “many of the allegations that you all have been reporting.” Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) also said she plans to meet with Hegseth and expects the allegations will be part of their conversation.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said it’d help if Hegseth pledged to quit drinking, apparently unaware he was making that promise on Wednesday: “I would love that. It would help me a lot.”
Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Wednesday: “We’ll see what the sense of our members is after he’s concluded all the meetings.”
Hegseth can only afford to lose three Republican votes in the Senate before his nomination would fall apart, assuming Democrats remain unanimously opposed. One Trump pick — former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who was tapped for attorney general — has already withdrawn from consideration after a number of Senate Republicans expressed concerns. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister was also nominated to serve as head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, but withdrew from consideration earlier this week.
Some senators seemed to believe it was a matter of when, not if, Hegseth would be forced to withdraw.
“At the end of the day, it’s his call, his decision. He can keep moving forward at one point, or he can pull out,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), a vocal Hegseth supporter. “At some point it’d become a family question on how much more he wants to go through.”
Apart from his visits with senators, Hegseth made a Wednesday appearance before the Republican Study Committee, the largest House GOP caucus, where he defended himself and likened the accusations he’s facing to those leveled against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation process, according to a person in the room, granted anonymity to describe a private meeting.
Two pulled potential nominees and a possible third on the way out is rare for an incoming administration, but GOP senators writ large are still trying to be deferential to Trump’s picks. Publicly toiling with the president-elect over his intended nominees before his term even begins doesn’t fit the vision of party unity that GOP lawmakers touted following the November elections.
“This advice and consent process is a beautiful one,” Hegseth told reporters in the Capitol on Wednesday. “I spoke to the president this morning. He supports me fully. We’re not going anywhere.”
There are still other tricky GOP nominees coming down the pipeline. Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, tapped to be the Director of National Intelligence, is expected to face pushback from the Senate’s national security hawks. Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services is also expected to draw attention.
Joe Gould, Olivia Beavers and Eleanor Mueller contributed to this report.
