Pete Hegseth will sit for a series of high-stakes meetings at the Capitol on Wednesday as he attempts to resuscitate his flagging nomination for President-elect Donald Trump‘s defense secretary.
Hegseth is vowing not to withdraw his name as he faces allegations of sexual misconduct and drunken behavior at work, each of which he denied. He will meet with at least three senators critical in the confirmation process Wednesday, including incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).
“Why would I back down? I’ve always been a fighter. I’m here for the fighters,” he told CBS News as he arrived on Capitol Hill, adding that Trump personally told him to “keep going.”
Senate Republicans initially signaled that Hegseth, a longtime Fox News host, had a path to confirmation, downplaying a 2017 police report that alleged he committed sexual assault at a GOP event in California.
Hegseth maintains the encounter was consensual.
However, his nomination is far more precarious today. In the last 72 hours, he has been forced to navigate a series of news reports that compound the sexual assault allegation, particularly a newly surfaced email from his mother in which she called him an “abuser of women.”
Separately, NBC News reported Tuesday that Hegseth’s colleagues at Fox News were concerned about his drinking habits.
Hegseth’s mother, Penelope Hegseth, appeared Wednesday morning on Fox News to make a direct appeal to the senators who will decide the fate of her son’s nomination. She has expressed regret over the email sent during his 2018 divorce and has apologized to her son.
“I just hope people will get to know who Pete is today, especially our dear female senators,” she said, calling her son a “changed” man.
“I really hope that you will not listen to the media and that you will listen to Pete,” she added.
Pete Hegseth, too, is sitting down for media appearances, including an interview with commentator Megyn Kelly. He left the Capitol after meeting with Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the incoming chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, for the second time.
Later, he will meet with Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), a veteran and survivor of sexual assault. She is among a number of possible replacements should his nomination fall through.
Republicans have said they will give Pete Hegseth the benefit of the doubt as he makes his rounds on Capitol Hill. Thune told reporters Wednesday that “he’s going to have an opportunity to address all the questions that have been raised.”
However, Pete Hegseth is weathering a deep well of Republican resistance to his nomination. In a chamber they will control by three votes next year, even a few “no” votes could doom his prospects.
“There are hard questions being raised, so he’ll have to answer those,” Thune added. “And my assumption is throughout the process, he’ll get that opportunity.”
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Already, former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz has been forced to withdraw his nomination as Trump’s attorney general in the face of similar opposition.
The nominations of two other Cabinet picks, former Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., are also considered to be in jeopardy.
Ramsey Touchberry contributed to this report.
