Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News personality whom President-elect Donald Trump nominated to be his defense secretary, has continued his courtship of GOP senators who hold the keys to his future — while seeking to retain the support of the man who appointed him. It's a sign of stubborn resilience from a nominee whose prospects looked shaky after the New Yorker opened up a flood of stories about his apparent drunkenness, sexual misconduct and financial mismanagement, including a scathing letter from his own mother calling him an abuser of women.

“We’re going to earn those votes,” Hegseth told reporters Thursday afternoon. “We’re fighting all the way through the tape.”

With his wife accompanying him, Hegseth has been meeting senators, answering their questions about his personal life and assuring them that he would submit to an FBI background check and mount a strong defense during the confirmation........

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