President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly considering replacing Pete Hegseth, who he picked for secretary of defense, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Present-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, is facing a murky future as the former president reportedly considers others for the job amid fresh allegations against the former Fox News host.
Hegseth outwardly remained confident in his nomination on Wednesday. He told CBS News that Trump told him on Wednesday to “keep fighting” and that he was behind him “all the way.” However, Trump is reportedly considering replacing Hegseth with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Other options for the Pentagon top job, which requires Senate confirmation, reportedly include GOP Sens. Joni Ernst of Iowa and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee.
“I’m doing this for the warfighters, not the warmongers,” Hegseth posted on social media on Wednesday. “The Left is afraid of disrupters and change agents. They are afraid of @realDonaldTrump—and me. So they smear w/ fake, anonymous sources & BS stories. They don’t want truth.”
Hegseth served in the military, though he does not have national security experience. He graduated from Princeton University in 2003 before being commissioned as an infantry officer in the Army National Guard. He served overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Below are a few of the reasons Hegseth’s nomination is potentially in jeopardy:
Hegseth’s Mother Sent Him an Email Accusing Him of Mistreating Women
In an email sent to Hegseth in 2018, amid his second divorce, his mother excoriated his treatment of women over the years.
“On behalf of all the women (and I know it’s many) you have abused in some way, I say … get some help and take an honest look at yourself,” Penelope Hegseth wrote, according to the email obtained by the New York Times.
“I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego,” she continued. “You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth.”
Penelope Hegseth appeared on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” on Wednesday to defend her son, saying she wrote the letter “as a parent” and “out of love.”
“And about two hours later, I retracted it with an apology, but nobody’s seen that,” she said.
Allegations of Drinking on the Job
Some of Hegseth’s former colleagues have reported concerns about his alleged alcohol consumption.
Ten current and former Fox employees told NBC News that he drank in a way that concerned them. Two of them said that they smelled alcohol on him on more than a dozen occasions during Hegseth’s time as a co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekend.” One of them said they smelled alcohol on him as recently as last month.
The New Yorker recently reported concerns about Hegseth’s drinking at two jobs he held at nonprofit veterans’ groups before he joined Fox. The magazine reported that Hegseth was forced to step down by both of the two nonprofit advocacy groups that he ran following allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety and personal misconduct.
Sexual Assault Allegations
Hegseth was accused of sexual assault in 2017 after a speaking appearance at a Republican women’s event in Monterey, California.
An attorney for Hegseth denied any wrongdoing and said the interaction was consensual. He also said that Hegseth paid the woman who accused him of sexual assault as part of a financial settlement with a confidentiality clause.
Potential “Insider Threat”
The Associated Press reported that Hegseth was labeled a possible “insider threat” by a fellow service member during his time in the National Guard because of a tattoo on his arm that says “Deus Vult,” which translates from Latin to “God wills it” and has been associated with white nationalist groups.