For now, Donald Trump is standing by Pete Hegseth, his embattled pick for defense secretary, but some Trump transition officials are beginning to doubt whether the Fox News host can survive the controversy. According to two Republicans close to Trump, the transition team is quietly preparing a list of alternative defense secretary candidates should Trump abandon Hegseth. “It’s becoming a real possibility,” one of the sources says. The second source tells me that transition members are frustrated that Hegseth failed to disclose he had paid a financial settlement to a woman who alleged he raped her at a Republican women’s event in 2017. “People are upset about the distraction. The general feeling is Pete hasn’t been honest,” the second source says. (Hegseth, through his attorney Timothy Parlatore, strenuously denies his accuser’s allegation.)
Hegseth, a thrice-married, 44-year-old Army veteran turned conservative media personality, faces a difficult confirmation battle. He has a long back catalogue of extreme statements: He’s expressed opposition to women serving in combat roles and labeled the political left “domestic enemies.” On Thursday, I reported that Trump’s incoming chief of staff, Susie Wiles, was made aware of an allegation that Hegseth committed sexual misconduct with a woman at a Republican women’s event in Monterey, California, about seven years ago (The Monterey Police Department confirmed it had investigated the alleged sexual assault and that the woman had reported suffering “contusions to right thigh.” No charges were filed).
Over the next several days, journalists uncovered other troubling information about Hegseth. The Washington Post and The New York Times reported that a friend of the alleged victim sent the transition team a memo that detailed what she said transpired at the Hyatt Regency in Monterey. Hegseth’s lawyer told Breitbart News that the alleged victim’s settlement contained confidentiality agreements that were breached when the allegation became public.
Meanwhile, Mother Jones has reported that Hegseth has ties to a controversial group of Christian nationalists called the TheoBros. The group’s unofficial leader, an Idaho pastor named Doug Wilson, said in an interview last month that he believes women should not have the right to vote; Hegseth has previously said he studied Wilson’s book My Life for Yours. Judd Legum, who writes the “Popular Information” substack, reported Monday that Hegseth published a column in college claiming that having sex with an unconcious woman is not rape because the woman experiences “no duress.” (Hegseth’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the column or his alleged ties to the TheoBros.)
Such issues would undoubtedly be explored in confirmation hearings, and Trump already faces the daunting task of trying to get Matt Gaetz confirmed as attorney general (that is, if Gaetz isn’t pushed through as a recess appointment). It was revealed this past week that a woman testified before the House Ethics Committee that she witnessed Gaetz having sex a minor; she and a second woman also claim that Gaetz paid them for sex, according to a lawyer representing them. Gaetz has previously denied the allegations against him.
Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung says in a statement that “Hegseth has vigorously denied any and all accusations, and no charges were filed” and they “look forward to his confirmation as United States secretary of defense.”
Cheung adds, “Pete Hegseth dedicated his entire life as a warrior for the troops and for our country. Pete served our country as an Army Combat Veteran who did tours in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan. For his actions on the battlefield, he was decorated with two Bronze Stars, as well as a Combat Infantryman’s Badge. He is an incredibly tough and smart candidate that will fight to put America First. With Pete as our Secretary of Defense, America’s enemies are on notice and our military will be great again.”
One prominent Republican close to the transition says the leaks are evidence that some Trumpworld insiders are alarmed by Hegseth’s lack of qualifications and are trying to make sure he doesn’t become defense secretary. “There are Republicans with a background in the Defense Department who are privately saying, ‘I’m not working for this guy,’” the source says.
The article was updated with a statement from Cheung.
