Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s nominee for Defense secretary, is already under fire for several notable controversies, including ties to right-wing extremism, anti-Muslim bigotry, and his defense of mercenaries that killed civilians. But new reporting has revealed more allegations of abuse toward women and public drunkenness that are likely to come up at future Senate confirmation hearings—if the former Fox News pundit makes it that far.
The New York Times reported on Friday that in a 2018 email Hegseth’s mother, Penelope Hegseth, described her son as an abuser of 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,” she wrote. “I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth.”
