Hegseth future in doubt as even Trump allies raise questions
CNN
Donald Trump’s choice of Pete Hegseth to run the Defense Department is in jeopardy amid questions from some key GOP senators over whether he’s fit for the job, forcing the president-elect’s team to maneuver behind the scenes to avoid a second Cabinet pick from collapsing amid a Republican revolt.
Donald Trump’s choice of Pete Hegseth to run the Defense Department is in jeopardy amid questions from some key GOP senators over whether he’s fit for the job, forcing the president-elect’s team to maneuver behind the scenes to avoid a second Cabinet pick from collapsing amid a Republican revolt. No Republicans have said they will not support Hegseth, but even some of the GOP senators closest to Trump, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, are now wondering whether Hegseth can survive the tightrope walk to confirmation, sending an ominous signal for the incoming White House. Hegseth will need to limit defections to three GOP senators, assuming all Democrats vote against him, and there are already more than three senators who are uncertain if they’ll back him. “He obviously has a chance to defend himself here. But some of this stuff is – it’s going to be difficult,” Graham, a longtime military veteran and South Carolina Republican, said on Tuesday. Hegseth, who has denied any wrongdoing, is under intense scrutiny amid a series of misconduct allegations, including a sexual assault allegation from 2017, which he has denied and in which no charges were filed. Even as many GOP senators insisted to reporters this week that they haven’t asked Hegseth about the allegations in private conversations with him, other GOP senators and senior aides are growing frustrated by the drip-drip of negative coverage about him The incoming chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Roger Wicker, told CNN that he expects to see a whistleblower report outlining allegations of misconduct during Hegseth’s time running a veterans’ group. The New Yorker this week detailed the allegations in the report. “I’m sure I’ll see it,” the Mississippi Republican told CNN. The New Yorker did not name the employees who compiled the whistleblower report and CNN has not independently reviewed the report. Other reports have also emerged about Hegseth’s conduct while employed at Fox News.
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