After Pete Hegseth meeting, Republican senators brush aside misconduct allegations
Republican senators who met Monday with Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, brushed aside sexual assault and other allegations against him.
Republican senators who met Monday with Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, brushed aside sexual assault and other allegations against him.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., called the allegations a “side issue” while lauding Hegseth’s ability to lead the Defense Department.
“Again, they’re throwing disparaging remarks at someone who has earned a great deal of credibility. Are soldiers sometimes wild childs? Yeah, that can happen,” Lummis said when she was asked whether the allegations concern her, “but it is very clear that this guy is the guy who, at a time when Americans are losing confidence in their own military, in our ability to project strength around the world, that Pete Hegseth is the answer to that concern.”
Around 10 to 12 senators on the Republican Steering Committee, a group of conservative senators led by Mike Lee, of Utah, met with Hegseth behind closed doors in the Capitol for less than an hour Monday.
Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth leaves a meeting with Republican Senators at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on November 21, 2024.Allison Robbert / The Washington Post via Getty Images fileHegseth, an Army National Guard veteran and former Fox News host, has faced several misconduct allegations since he was named as Trump's pick to lead the Defense Department (he has denied any wrongdoing). Most recently, a New Yorker article published Sunday revealed the contents of a previously undisclosed 2015 whistleblower report from a veterans' organization Hegseth ran, which claimed he was repeatedly intoxicated on the job.
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