Donald Trump is reportedly railing against Pete Hegseth behind closed doors.
New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman appeared on CNN Wednesday to discuss Hegseth’s standing within the Trump administration.
“Trump has been complaining privately to people that he feels like Hegseth should have been more upfront with him, that he gave him opportunities,” Haberman told the network. “We also know … some of these things didn’t come up in a vet that the Trump folks said that they did of Hegseth.… It’s hard to see why senators who are already skeptical would be like, oh, OK, now I’m going to go along with this.”
Hegseth has been hit with allegations of rape, sexual harassment, alcoholism, and workplace misconduct, all since 2017. The Christian nationalist and former Fox & Friends Weekend host has been trying to rally support for himself, even sending his own mother out to make personal pleas to female senators on his behalf. But things aren’t looking great, and Trump knows it.
The CNN segment also included a clip of Hegseth’s appearance on the Megyn Kelly Show, where compared himself to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whose confirmation hearing was roiled by accusations of sexual assault. Hegseth said that Trump stood by his nominee then and Trump could stand by him too. But Haberman noted some key differences.
“Trump really put a lot of skin in the game on [Kavanaugh]. That is a big difference here,” she said. “Trump, as far as I know, is not making a ton of calls on Pete Hegseth’s behalf. He’s telling Pete Hegseth, ‘Go fight.’”
Republicans are scrambling to protect Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, by trying to keep the sexual misconduct allegations against him under wraps.
On Fox News Wednesday night, Senator Lindsey Graham attempted to brush off the allegations as baseless because they come from “anonymous sources.”
“I’m not going to make any decision based on an anonymous source. If you are not willing to raise your hand under oath to make the accusation, it doesn’t count,” Graham told Sean Hannity. “None of it counts, no rumors, no innuendo.”
“But you were there for the Kavanaugh hearings!” Hannity interjected, referring to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, prompting Graham to reply with a chuckle, “And I’ve seen this movie before!”
Graham: The allegations against Hegseth are all anonymous sources. I’m not going to make any decision based on an anonymous source. If you are not willing to raise your hand under oath to make the accusation, it doesn't count. pic.twitter.com/JikSncpZXk
Speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper Wednesday, Senator Rick Scott echoed Graham’s complaints about anonymous sources, asking why Hegseth’s accuser wasn’t “willing to go on your show or some show and have you ask them all the questions.”
Tapper called Scott’s bluff, noting that Hegseth had paid the woman and she signed a nondisclosure agreement. He asked the Florida senator if Hegseth “should release her from the NDA so that I can ask her the questions that you want me to.”
Scott balked immediately, saying, “Absolutely not.” He claimed that many NDAs are signed “just to eliminate something” and noted that Hegseth wasn’t charged with a crime.
Scott then doubled down further, citing Trump’s victory and saying, “We have to make a change at the Department of Defense.”
Tapper pressed Scott further, who retreated into insinuating that Hegseth’s military service was under attack.
“Why don’t people respect these people who defend our freedom?” Scott complained, citing his own father’s military service to a bemused Tapper, who raised his eyebrows and concluded the interview.
Tapper: That woman Hegseth paid her money and she signed a NDA so she can't come on my show to talk about it. Do you think Pete should release her from the NDA so that I can ask her the questions that you want me to
Scott: Absolutely not. pic.twitter.com/nIKTN9PI5u
It’s pretty clear that Scott and Graham believe that Hegseth’s misconduct allegations are damaging and need to be hidden or discredited. Graham had the benefit of a friendly conservative on Fox News, but Scott was clearly caught by Tapper with his own words. With Trump’s team already suggesting alternative candidates for secretary of defense, Hegseth’s nomination might collapse. It already happened with Matt Gaetz.
Republicans are already bickering over how to pass major parts of President-elect Donald Trump’s platform.
There is serious disunity regarding how and when to pass Trump’s legislative agenda, Politico reported Wednesday. Senator John Thune told his fellow senators that he wanted to accelerate the president-elect’s plans via budget reconciliation so that both the border policy and tax policy portions can pass within the first 30 days of Trump’s presidency.
Some House Republicans don’t think that’s the right approach, though, as passing border policy so early could make it harder for their committee to pass tax law later on. And then there’s also the fact that Republicans already have some significant disagreements on tax policy in general.
While Republican House leaders Mike Johnson and Steve Scalise have been in Trump’s ear in Mar-a-Lago, dissent has been fomenting in D.C.
“Our members need to weigh in on that. This doesn’t need to be a decision that’s made up on high, OK?” said Texas House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington. “We’re all unified around the objectives, [but] how we roll it out, the tactics and strategies, still under........