Republican senators appear to be giving Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump’s pick to head the Pentagon, the benefit of the doubt after his lawyer confirmed he paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017 to avoid a lawsuit.

Hegseth, a Fox News commentator last week announced by Trump as his intended Defense secretary, has denied allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017, claiming that he was subject to blackmail.

But GOP senators, many of whom have already responded to Hegseth’s nomination with surprise due to his lack of experience, are withholding their opinions until after a full background check and a public nomination hearing.

“We're going to look at each [nominee] individually,” Senate Armed Services Committee member Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) told The Hill. “The president, we give him the benefit of the doubt, but we do our due diligence, and I think an open hearings process is something that we all believe in.”

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told reporters that “clearly we're........

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