Since military veteran and Fox News Channel personality Pete Hegseth was nominated to lead the Department of Defense during President Donald Trump’s second term, he has been inundated by allegations and speculative claims from critics on the left.
For his part, however, Trump remains committed to his pick and recently reasserted that he is confident Hegseth will be confirmed by the Senate.
As The Hill reported:
“It looks like Pete is doing well now,” Trump told “Meet the Press” Moderator Kristen Welker.
“I mean, people were a little bit concerned. He’s a young guy, with a tremendous track record actually,” the former president added.
His comments come after weeks of scrutiny from coworkers, lawmakers and former Pentagon officials alike. However, Trump said that Hegseth is qualified to take the reins of the country’s top security agency.
“He went to Princeton and went to Harvard. He was a good student at both. But he loves the military and I think people are starting to see it so we’ll be working on his nomination along with a lot of others,” Trump said in the interview.
The accusations being launched against him have fueled significant social media discussion:
Hegseth himself has remained defiant in the face of such orchestrated backlash, as reported by NBC News :
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s embattled pick for defense secretary, brushed aside suggestions Wednesday that he drop out and said he had spoken to Trump, who he said urged him to “keep going, keep fighting.”
“I spoke to the president-elect this morning. He said: ‘Keep going, keep fighting. I’m behind you all the way.’” Hegseth told CBS News in the Capitol. “Why would I back down? I’ve always been a fighter. I’m here for the fighters. This is personal and passionate for me.”
Hegseth, a military veteran and former Fox News host, was shuttling between meetings with the Republican senators whose votes he will need to be confirmed.
Here’s a clip of Trump’s recent remarks on the matter:
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