WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Friday offered a public show of support for Pete Hegseth, his embattled choice to lead the Defense Department, whose confirmation by the Senate is in doubt as he faces questions over allegations of excessive drinking, sexual assault and his views on women in combat.
“Pete Hegseth is doing very well,” Trump posted on his social media site. “He will be a fantastic, high energy, Secretary of Defense.” The president added that “Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!”
Hegseth, a former Fox News Host, Army National Guard major and combat veteran, spent much of the week on Capitol Hill trying to salvage his Cabinet nomination and reassure Republican senators that he is fit to lead Trump’s Pentagon.
The effort has quickly become a test of Trump’s clout and of how far loyalty for the president-elect goes with Republican senators who have concerns about his nominees. Trump has already met some resistance. Two of his other choices have stepped aside as they faced intense scrutiny: former congressman Matt Gaetz, his first choice for attorney general; and Chad Chronister, a Florida sheriff who was Trump’s first choice to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Vice President-elect JD Vance also made a show of support for Hegseth on Friday, part of a full-court press by members of Trump’s Make America Great Again movement.
“If you’re a GOP Senator who voted for Lloyd Austin, but criticize @PeteHegseth, then maybe you’re in the wrong political party!” Vance wrote on X.
Hegseth has promised not to drink on the job and told lawmakers he never engaged in sexual misconduct, even as his professional views on female troops have also come under intensifying scrutiny. He said as recently as last month that women “straight up” should not serve in combat.
Two female senators, Republican Joni Ernst of Iowa and Democrat Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, sit on the Armed Services Committee. Both are combat veterans who served in the Iraq war, and Duckworth lost both legs when a Blackhawk helicopter she was piloting was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.
Ernst, who is also a sexual assault survivor, stopped short of an endorsement after her meeting with Hegseth this week. She said she appreciates his military service and they “had a frank and thorough conversation.”
Hegseth has yet to meet with Duckworth.
Trump’s transition team has been looking at potential replacements if Hegseth’s nomination cannot move forward, including former Trump rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis plans to attend the Army-Navy football game with Trump on Dec. 14, according to a person familiar with the Florida governor’s plans who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss them before a public announcement.
DeSantis and Trump had spoken about the defense secretary post when they saw each other Tuesday at a memorial service for sheriff deputies in West Palm Beach, Florida, according people familiar with the matter who said Trump was interested in DeSantis for the post, and the governor was receptive.
DeSantis also is poised to select a replacement for the expected Senate vacancy to be created by Marco Rubio becoming secretary of state, and Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump is seen as the preferred choice by those in Trump’s orbit.
Hegseth is facing resistance from lawmakers as reports have emerged about his past, including the revelation that he made a settlement payment after being accused of a sexual assault that he denies.
The New Yorker cited what it described as a whistleblower report and other documents about his time leading a veterans advocacy group, Concerned Veterans for America, that alleged multiple incidents of alcohol intoxication at work events, inappropriate behavior around female staffers and financial mismanagement.
The New York Times obtained an email from his mother Penelope from 2018, in which she confronted him about mistreating women after he impregnated his current wife while he was married to his second wife. She went on “Fox & Friends” this week to defend her son.
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Associated Press Writers Michelle L. Price and Jill Colvin in New York, and Adriana Gomez Licon in Ft. Lauderdale contributed to this report.
