WASHINGTON (AP) — Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's Pentagon pick, was fighting to hold on to his Cabinet nomination amid growing questions Wednesday about his personal conduct as the president-elect's team considers alternatives, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The Trump transition team was increasingly concerned about Hegseth’s path to Senate confirmation and was actively looking at potential replacements, a person familiar with the matter said. Hegseth is under pressure as senators weigh a series of allegations that have surfaced against him.
DeSantis, who competed against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, is being discussed as a possible replacement if Hegseth’s nomination does not move forward, according to three other people familiar with the matter. They were not authorized to publicly discuss internal deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Trump and DeSantis appeared together on Tuesday at a ceremony in West Palm Beach to honor three fallen sheriff’s deputies.
The Trump transition team didn’t immediately comment.
Meanwhile, Hegseth's mother appeared on Fox News on Wednesday to address multiple allegations that have emerged in the media about Hegseth's alcohol intoxication at work events, sexual misconduct and potential financial mismanagement.
Penelope Hegseth appeared on “Fox & Friends” to discuss her son and a 2018 email she wrote him that was obtained by The New York Times, in which she confronted him about mistreating women after he impregnated his current wife while he was married to his second wife.
That letter followed multiple allegations, reported by the New Yorker this week, of questionable conduct around female staffers. Hegseth also was accused of sexual assault in 2017, which Hegseth told California police at the time was consensual encounter and has denied any wrongdoing.
Hegseth has never held a military or civilian leadership role in the Pentagon, but his mother said his time as a Fox News host and the pressure of that role was a good preparation for leading the Defense Department.
She acknowledged that the allegations against her son have become a distraction and raised concern among some GOP senators.
On Tuesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said some of the reports were “disturbing,” telling CBS News that he wants to “make sure that every young woman that joins the military feels respected and welcomed.”
Penelope Hegseth implored the lawmakers to listen to her son and give him a chance.
“I think it can be overcome,” Penelope Hegseth said.
Hegseth is a former Fox News host and a former Army National Guard major and combat veteran who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. If confirmed by the Senate, he would lead a 2 million member strong military — more than 17% of whom are female. The revelations have concerned some members of Congress.
“I would do anything for my son,” Penelope Hegseth said in the TV interview.
She spoke directly to Trump in the segment, saying her son "is not that man he was seven years ago.” She said she wrote the email because Hegseth and his then-wife were going through a very difficult divorce and “it was a very emotional time.”
She said she retracted the email and apologized to her son about two hours after sending the email.
Thomas Beaumont, Adriana Gomez Licon, Zeke Miller And Tara Copp, The Associated Press
