As Donald Trump drilled down in support of his defense secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth, his MAGA acolytes fell in line—but some are pushing a little too hard on the throttle to illustrate their deference to the president-elect’s choices.
During an interview Friday on Real America’s Voice’s Charlie Kirk Show, while blowing off the rape allegations plaguing Hegseth’s nomination process, Texas Representative Chip Roy practically admitted to his own sexual assault scandal.
“I think Pete Hegseth was an exceptional pick,” Roy said of the former Fox News anchor, who has been decried as “inordinately unqualified” for the top Pentagon position by former Army National Guard officials.
“He’s under fire from squishy senators who’ve been against everything we want to do,” Roy continued. “So I hope that Pete holds the line all the way through. And we should all defend him.
“Look, we’ve all had some indiscretions in our past and things like that,” Roy added, seemingly referring to Hegseth’s situation. “Every human has. But good grief, Pete Hegseth—you know, he has the support of so many people. And he represents somebody who would take on the defense establishment.”
Chip Roy dismisses the Pete Hegseth rape allegation: "We've all had some indiscretions in our past and things like that." pic.twitter.com/qrngbpzCtl
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 6, 2024
Hegseth, a 44-year-old former infantry officer, has been under fire since Trump tapped him to lead the Pentagon, primarily over a shocking 2017 police report that revealed the Army veteran was accused of raping an attendee at a Republican women’s conference in Monterey, California. Hegseth has also admitted to several other scandals, including five affairs that he had during his first marriage. Some of Hegseth’s former Fox colleagues have accused him of being “handsy” and groping them. Nearly a dozen of his former co-workers have spoken to various media outlets to warn that his drinking habits are “concerning,” and some noted that they had smelled alcohol on Hegseth as recently as last month.
Republicans at the forefront of the Senate confirmation process have bristled at Hegseth’s nomination, with some taking particular note of the 44-year-old’s drinking problem. In an interview with CNN earlier this week, Republican Senator Kevin Cramer specified that Hegseth needed to stay away from the bottle and offer a promise of sobriety before taking the reins of the country’s military intelligence.
