Trump's Pentagon nominee Hegseth pushes ahead amid doubts
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Trump's Pentagon nominee Hegseth pushes ahead amid doubts
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the US Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth, pushed ahead on Wednesday with his bid for the job amid doubts in Congress over allegations about his personal and professional life.
Two sources familiar with internal Trump team deliberations said the Republican has been considering Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for the defense secretary role should Hegseth falter. A third source confirmed Trump and DeSantis had spoken about the Pentagon and that DeSantis was considering it.
Hegseth was meeting on Wednesday with Republican senators whose support he would need to secure the job running the sprawling US military, a jump for a former Fox News host and former National Guard officer.
"I’m doing this for the warfighters, not the warmongers," Hegseth wrote on X. "Our warriors never back down, & neither will I."
But his nomination was facing headwinds.
"I have some very real concerns about some things that have come out recently and I want to ask him about that," said Republican US Senator Lisa Murkowski.
Hegseth is not the first Trump Cabinet pick to run into difficulties. Former congressman Matt Gaetz dropped his bid for attorney general last month in the face of questions among Senate Republicans about alleged sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old girl and drug use. Gaetz has denied wrongdoing.
Trump's pick to head the Drug Enforcement Administration, Chad Chronister, dropped his bid on Tuesday after pushback from some Republicans for the Florida sheriff's actions during the early days of the COVID pandemic.
In midtown Manhattan early this morning, 50-year-old Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare,
Trump said on Wednesday on social media of Chronister, "he didn't pull out. I pulled him out."
'HARD QUESTIONS'
US Senator John Thune, who will lead the party's 53-47 majority next year, told reporters he would meet with Hegseth later on Wednesday, as would other Senate Republicans.
"He's going to have an opportunity to address all the questions that have been raised, and there are some hard questions being raised. So he'll have to answer those," Thune said.
Hegseth was also set to meet with Republican Senator Joni Ernst, a military veteran and sexual assault survivor, on Wednesday. That talk is seen as key to his prospects, according to a person familiar with the process.
Hegseth has another Wednesday meeting scheduled with Republican Senator Roger Wicker, who is in line to chair the Armed Services Committee next year.
A wave of media reports has raised questions about Hegseth.
Hegseth has denied allegations made in a police report that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017 at a conference in California.
The woman said that while drinking with colleagues, she may have been drugged and was then sexually assaulted by a man she later identified as Hegseth, according to the report.
No charges were filed, and he entered into a private settlement with the alleged victim.
