The US president-elect stands by his decide for protection secretary regardless of scandal and allegations of misconduct.
United States President-elect Donald Trump has voiced help for Pete Hegseth, his embattled decide for Pentagon chief, whose nomination seems in peril amid scandals and considerations about his lack of expertise.
Trump signalled on Friday that he doesn’t intend to withdraw Hegseth’s nomination, heaping reward on the fight veteran and former Fox Information host. As Trump’s decide to be secretary of protection, Hegseth, like different high cupboard picks, must be confirmed by the incoming Senate.
“Pete Hegseth is doing very nicely. His help is powerful and deep, far more so than the Pretend Information would have you ever imagine. He was an ideal pupil — Princeton/Harvard educated — with a Army frame of mind,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
“He might be a incredible, excessive power, Secretary of Protection Protection, one who leads with charisma and talent. Pete is a WINNER, and there’s nothing that may be accomplished to vary that!!!”
Hegseth — an Iran hawk — has been beset by controversy since Trump nominated him final month. He continues to face allegations of sexual misconduct and extreme ingesting, which he has denied.
Some US media retailers reported this week that Trump was contemplating alternate options to Hegseth.
Scandals have already taken down one other Trump cupboard decide: former Congressman Matt Gatz, who withdrew his nomination for lawyer common final month amid allegations of sexual impropriety.
The nomination of Hegseth, who’s a staunch supporter of Israel, to be the highest civilian authority on the Pentagon, overseeing the world’s strongest army with an annual funds of $850bn, raised eyebrows early on.
Whereas Hegseth beforehand led the advocacy group Involved Veterans for America, he has no executive-level nationwide safety expertise.
On Friday, Hegseth expressed gratitude for Trump’s help. “Thanks Mr. President. Such as you, we’ll by no means again down,” he wrote in a social media post.
Incoming Vice President JD Vance additionally paid a nod to Hegseth. “Led by President Trump, we’re preventing for Pete Hegseth. And we’re doing so as a result of Pete Hegseth will struggle for our troops,” Vance stated in a post on X.
Hegseth has been assembly with senators on Capitol Hill this week to deal with their considerations and reiterate that he denies experiences of misconduct.
Key Republican Senator Joni Ernst urged in an interview with Fox Information that she just isn’t but prepared to substantiate Hegseth after assembly with him this week.
Final week, the journal The New Yorker revealed a damning report on Hegseth’s controversies. It cited complaints from Involved Veterans for America workers, one in every of whom claimed that Hegseth drunkenly chanted “Kill all Muslims” at a bar in Ohio in 2015.
The allegations prompted the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) to name on senators to reject the nomination of Hegseth.
“Primarily based on his present views and previous actions, it’s clear Mr. Hegseth is completely inappropriate as a nominee for secretary of protection,” CAIR’s govt director, Nihad Awad, stated in a press release.
“Anybody who — even in a drunken state — would name for the slaughter of all members of a religion has disqualified himself from holding an essential place that may inevitably work together with representatives of Muslim-majority nations.”
