NBC News is reporting that at least six Republican Senators are balking at the idea of confirming Pete Hegseth, a veteran of the War on Terror and current host at Fox News who has been nominated to lead the Department of Defense by President-elect Trump.
Since Hegseth was announced as Trump’s nominee, he has been the target of numerous smear campaigns advanced by anti-Trump media outlets like the New York Times and NBC News.
Without evidence, mainstream media pundits have suggested that Pete Hegseth sexually assaulted a woman based on unproven allegations that were investigated by law enforcement and found to be without merit.
The accuser — whose identity is redacted — claimed Hegseth raped her in 2017 during a Republican women’s conference at a hotel in Monterey, California.
According to the accuser, the alleged assault happened after conference organizers went to the hotel bar following an after-party towards the end of the conference.
A separate report from NBC News, citing anonymous allegations from alleged colleagues of his at Fox News, claims that Hegseth drank heavily during his time at the network. Two of them said, without evidence, that Hegseth smelled of alcohol before he went on air on more than a dozen occasions.
Megan Kelly is on 🔥🔥! Here she is talking about Pete Hegseth and the alleged allègations! She isn’t buying any of it! It’s another Kavanagh all over again! pic.twitter.com/v1foBYXUa4
— Kathleen Winchell ❤️🤍💙🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@KathleenWinche3) November 23, 2024
Now, as a result of the flood of unverified investigations, NBC News is reporting that at least six Republican senators are leaning towards opposing Hegseth’s nomination. Republicans will control 53 seats when the new Congress is sworn in next month, meaning that they could only afford three defections if all Democrats vote against Hegseth’s nomination.
When the initial allegations were levied against Hegseth last month, Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, was optimistic that he would be confirmed. The anonymous sources quoted in the NBC News report now appears to be giving Senators pause, however.
“I think there are questions that some members have, and we’re going to be looking for an answer,” Wicker told the outlet.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) stated that he is open to confirming Hegseth, though he did note that he finds the allegations concerning. “We got a process where he can be asked questions. The articles I’ve read, yeah, some of them are concerning,” Graham said. “I don’t know if it’s true or not, but he’ll go through the process. He’ll be asked about it. We’ll see what happens.”
Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) expressed similar sentiments, stating that “we’re just going to have a really frank and thorough conversation,” in the confirmation hearings.
Alleged Republican opposition to Hegseth comes after four Republican senators refused to confirm U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) for U.S. attorney general. Those opposed to Gaetz’s nomination included Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), freshman Senator John Curtis (R-UT) and outgoing Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
McConnell — who recently became more open about his hatred of Trump in a new memoir — opposed Gaetz’s nomination after his home state went for Trump by a 31-point margin, one of the largest in the nation.
