President-elect Donald Trump said he still had confidence that Pete Hegseth, his disputed pick for defense secretary, could achieve confirmation in the United States Senate and that his team would work to advance the nomination.
“Yes, I believe it. “I really believe it,” Trump responded in an interview with NBC News’ Meet the Press program. recorded on Friday when asked directly if he was confident in his choice. He praised Hegseth as a “very smart guy” and “basically a military man.”
Trump said he had received no assurances from senators that Hegseth would be confirmed, but added: “I think he will be.”
“A lot of senators have called me to tell me it’s fantastic,” the president-elect said.
Trump’s public rally of support comes at the end of a week in which Hegseth fought to rescue his nomination after multiple reports piled up accusations of sexual misconduct, alcohol abuse and mismanagement of veterans organizations. Hegseth has denied the allegations.
Hegseth, former co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend, can only afford to lose three Republican senators, assuming all Democrats oppose him, and spent the week meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol.
On Friday afternoon, Iowa Republican Joni Ernst, a military veteran and rape survivor who had previously declined to say whether she would support his nomination, said she would meet with him again next week and said Hegseth deserved a “hearing.” fair.” Ernst is a powerful voice on military issues in the Senate and his support would be crucial in determining whether he is confirmed.
Hegseth has struck a defiant tone, even as Trump’s team considered Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former rival of the president-elect in the presidential primaries, as a possible replacement. Ernst is also seen as a possible alternative candidate.
Hegseth faces accusations that he raped a woman in 2017, an allegation he has repeatedly denied. He was not charged after the indictment, but he paid the accuser a financial settlement. A lawyer for Hegseth has said the encounter was consensual.
A report from The New Yorker also detailed his resignation from two veterans advocacy groups. The report highlighted a 2015 whistleblower report that described Hegseth as intoxicated on the job as president of Concerned Veterans for America. and alleged that he and members of his management team had had sexual relations with the group’s female staff.
“Pete seems to be doing well now,” Trump said in Friday’s interview. “People were a little worried. He is a young boy, with a tremendous career in reality.”
“We will work on his nomination along with that of many others,” he added.
To Trump, who doesn’t drink, was asked about allegations that Hegseth has a drinking problem.
“I’ve talked to people who know him very well and they say he doesn’t have a drinking problem.”Trump said.
