--- title: Pete Hegseth's Nomination Is on Shaky Ground description: Hill staffers are watching the Pete Hegseth nomination with little certainty. At least a half-dozen Republican Senators are seen as in play. canonical: https://time.com/7199646/pete-hegseth-nomination-trump-republican-senators/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-12-04T00:42:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T07:48:57.091Z article:section: Politics og:title: Pete Hegseth's Nomination Is on Shaky Ground og:description: Hill staffers are watching the Pete Hegseth nomination with little certainty. At least a half-dozen Republican Senators are seen as in play. og:url: https://time.com/7199646/pete-hegseth-nomination-trump-republican-senators/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02c0da58601366ea/698b24740116821e6598d42d/GettyImages-2188101930.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Trump's Nominee For Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Meets With Lawmakers On Capitol Hill og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Pete Hegseth's Nomination Is on Shaky Ground twitter:description: Hill staffers are watching the Pete Hegseth nomination with little certainty. At least a half-dozen Republican Senators are seen as in play. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02c0da58601366ea/698b24740116821e6598d42d/GettyImages-2188101930.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump’s Nomination of Pete Hegseth Is on Shaky Ground > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=49a18ed6-db7c-47cd-abe1-593ca03977c3&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Pete Hegseth Meets with Republican Senators Over Sexual Assault and Excessive Drinking Allegations [Watch (HLS stream): Pete Hegseth Meets with Republican Senators Over Sexual Assault and Excessive Drinking Allegations](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QUrYppS8.m3u8) (2:58)  _Published 2024-12-05. President-elect Donald Trump stunned the Pentagon and the broader defense world by nominating Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as his defense secretary, tapping someone largely inexperienced and untested on the global stage to take over the world’s largest and most powerful military._  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Dec 4, 2024 12:42 AM UTC President-elect Donald Trump stunned the Pentagon and the broader defense world by nominating Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as his defense secretary, tapping someone largely inexperienced and untested on the global stage to take over the world’s largest and most powerful military.  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Dec 4, 2024 12:42 AM UTC _This article is part of The D.C. Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up_ [_here_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/signup?nln=dc-brief&source=dc%5Fonsite) _to get stories like this sent to your inbox._ First came the raw [shock](https://www.npr.org/2024/11/14/nx-s1-5191941/pete-hegseth-defense-department-dei) of the [nomination](https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/archive/2024/11/trump-military-pete-hegseth-tulsi-gabbard-cabinet/680725/). A weekend host of a Fox News morning show to lead the Department of Defense, the largest employer in the United States? Really? Then came a [reminder](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/pete-hegseth-trump-pick-pentagon-rcna180011) that Pete Hegseth doesn’t [think](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/11/30/pete-hegseth-military-women-combat/) women should be in combat roles. And then a nudge to recall that the former National Guardsman thinks diversity and inclusion [programs](https://www.npr.org/2024/11/14/nx-s1-5191941/pete-hegseth-defense-department-dei) at the Pentagon spawn “[wokeness](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/11/hegseth-women-in-combat/680774/)” in the ranks. Then there were the stories about his past [advocacy](https://time.com/7176342/pete-hegseth-donald-trump-pardon-war-crimes-military/) for people accused of war crimes despite [opposition](https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-pentagon-oppose-trump-pardon-murder-warcrimes-20190522-story.html) from those leading the Department of Defense at the time. And then the stories about his unit’s alleged [involvement](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/11/23/pete-hegseth-army-iraq-war-crimes/) with war crimes. And his anti-Muslim [rhetoric](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/28/pete-hegseth-trump-anti-muslim-book). And maybe a white-Christian-nationalism [tattoo](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pete-hegseths-tattoos-symbols-christian-nationalism). And a [flag](https://abcnews.go.com/US/pete-hegseth-flagged-potential-insider-threat-tattoo/story?id=115979853) based on that tattoo to his higher-ups in the military that he could be an “insider threat” who shouldn’t be let near high-pressure environments. Fine, said the crew down at Mar-a-Lago, the _de facto_ White House-in-waiting. Republicans close to the incoming Donald Trump Administration say the team heading back to Washington knew all of this before they nominated Hegseth as their pick to become the next Secretary of Defense and sixth in line for the presidency itself. Republicans in the Senate held steady, even if behind closed doors there was a sinking feeling that they were on a familiar [rollercoaster](https://www.friendsofeurope.org/insights/critical-thinking-here-we-go-again-the-trump-rollercoaster-returns-to-washington-and-brussels-too/). But what caught the Trump team by [surprise](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/pete-hegseth-misconduct-allegation-meeting?srsltid=AfmBOop8U82nayQt0a-j0X8tez0hQM9MrAL6cyUKI8ydw4EdzopfnIM7) were the stories that came next. Hegseth is alleged to have sexually [assaulted](https://www.wsj.com/politics/police-report-reveals-graphic-details-of-allegations-against-pete-hegseth-46cb7bf3) a woman at a Republican women’s conference in California. There is a police [report](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/11/21/pete-hegseth-monterey-police-report/). And there is a hush-money [settlement](https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/17/politics/pete-hegseth-sexual-assault-settlement-agreement/index.html). (Hegseth has denied the assault allegations, arguing the encounter was consensual, and noting the police did not charge him. He also has stood by both his political stances and the tattoo, which Hegseth [said](https://apnews.com/article/trump-defense-department-pentagon-hegseth-fox-news-8cd9f065e54a7cbbaceeec8bae9261a6) disqualified him from guarding President Joe Biden’s Inauguration despite [being](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2024/11/15/pete-hegseth-trump-defense-secretary-inauguration-national-guard-tattoo/76335443007/) “just a Christian symbol.”) Each story came out in recent days before reports surfaced that his own mother sent him a poison-pen [email](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/29/us/politics/pete-hegseth-mother-email.html) accusing him of being a serial abuser of women and something of a cad. And then there was the [one](https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/pete-hegseths-secret-history) about him as a bad steward of money raised by the powerful Koch network, a sexist bully, and a drunkard on the job who got canned. And the [one](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/pete-hegseth-first-marriage?srsltid=AfmBOoocV8nBUL9F1g3iJtCAJN31whyYk7K3HlL5WTp2zNlLvSbI44B2) that said he billed his wife’s credit card for hotel hookup venues. And the [one](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/pete-hegseth-meeting-republican-senators-brush-misconduct-allegations-rcna182569) that claimed his former Fox colleagues worried about his alcohol consumption. All of which would probably block any other incoming administration’s pick for a receptionist—let alone a Secretary of Defense—from creeping forward. But this is Trump, and he likes to provoke. His top aides [doubled-down](https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5019063-trump-jason-miller-hegseth-nomination/) on Tuesday despite some grumbling that this mightn’t be the best use of their political capital. But here’s the thing about Trump: he’s loyal until he isn’t. Late Tuesday afternoon, it became clear the nomination was going wobbly in a big way. Hegseth can afford to lose three Republican Senators, and it looks like there may be a few more doubters than that. While plenty of lawmakers have taken the pro-Trump line, some like Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina are [signaling](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5020569-lindsey-graham-pete-hegseth-allegations/) a “difficult” path ahead. Sen. Joni Ernst, a retired Army Reservist from Iowa who serves on the Armed Services Committee, says she [plans](https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5020850-hegseth-defense-nomination-scrutiny/) a “frank” conversation with Hegseth. The Chairman of that committee, Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, said Hegseth will have to answer [questions](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/12/03/trump-nominees-hegseth-patel-fbi-senate/76712589007/) from his panel if he is going to weather the drip of negative stories. Some Republicans who have been inconsistent allies to Trump could break the nomination; many are watching Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Others are bracing for a whistleblower report and audit from Hegseth’s time running the Koch-backed veterans’ group. Privately, Hill staffers are watching the nomination closely and with little certainty. Even as Trump’s team projected confidence, GOP leadership aides are increasingly skeptical. At least a half-dozen Republican Senators are seen as in play, according to three Hill aides. This wouldn’t be Trump’s first Cabinet pick to go down. Trump really [liked](https://time.com/7178289/matt-gaetz-withdraws-trump/) the [idea](https://time.com/7176545/matt-gaetz-attorney-general-trump/) of former Rep. Matt Gaetz to run the Department of Justice until it [became](https://time.com/7178910/donald-trump-cabinet/) clear he was going to be too much of a headache. The drip of bad news about Gaetz’s alleged sexual encounters with minors, drug use, and more—plus its dominance in the new cycle—proved too much for the President-elect. Trump can stand by someone as long as it doesn’t make him appear foolish; bad news is fine as long as it’s not _new_ news to Number One. [Crowding](https://time.com/magazine/us/4657637/february-13th-2017-vol-189-no-5-u-s/) Trump off the front page is a fireable offense. Gaetz’s downfall was the [quickest](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/11/21/trump-gaetz-attorney-general-senate/) exit of a Cabinet nomination in history so close to Election Day, rivaling a similar eight-day window that George W. Bush’s pick at Labor saw in 2000. So far, Republicans who will control the confirmation—or not—of Trump’s Cabinet picks have largely held the line on Hegseth in a way they did not for Gaetz. But there are sufficient grumblings about moving forward with someone who has never before run something even comparable to the Pentagon to put the nomination in doubt. Senate Republicans fear Trump and his followers, but they also have to take a close eye on the person that will have Trump’s ear on major military action. There is a fine line between messy and untenable; Trump is testing it with Hegseth. Democrats have, to this point, stepped aside and allowed Republicans to make trouble themselves. A favorite gif on the Hill since the nominations started has been some variation of someone watching with fascination as they toss [popcorn](https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/13/matt-gaetz-attorney-general-confirmation-doubt-00189382) in their mouths. Although Democrats won’t have a veto over Trump’s picks, they’re also not certain that they’re all going to get through. The chaos has already claimed Gaetz, and it, might soon be a fate shared by Hegseth or even [Tulsi Gabbard](https://time.com/7096376/tulsi-gabbard-democrat-republican-political-evolution-history-trump/), Trump’s pick as the nation’s top [spy master](https://time.com/7176696/gabbard-russia-connection-trump-intelligence/). Another pick raising eyebrows is [Kash Patel](https://time.com/7199186/meet-kash-patel-donald-trump-nomination-for-fbi-director/), a former Hill hand who rose to become the Pentagon’s top aide during the first Trump term and is on deck to head the FBI. And of course there’s anti-vaxxer [Robert F. Kennedy Jr.](https://time.com/7014448/rfk-campaign-trump-endorsement/)’s [nomination](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gx3kkz8z3o) to head the Department of Health and Human Services. For now, Trump’s team is telling allies to [hold steady](https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/pete-hegseths-controversies-threaten-to-derail-defense-secretary-bid-35b4c3bd) on the rest of the slate. Hegseth is on his version of a charm offensive with Hill offices, and many of the Republicans up there are signaling their fealty. “My position is what President Trump decides to do is what I will support,” Sen. Mike Crapo [said](https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/02/politics/gop-senators-background-checks-trump-nominees/index.html) when asked about the nominees going forward [without](https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/12/02/congress/vetting-trumps-picks-00192265) so much as an FBI background check. (Since Crapo, an Idaho Republican, said this, the Trump campaign [announced](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/12/03/us/trump-biden-news#trump-fbi-background-checks) it would work with the feds on such vetting.) And it’s worth remembering that for every moment of suspense when someone like Collins or Murkowski seems to balk at one of Trump’s moves, they were still more likely to [side](https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/congress-trump-score/) with Trump than not. Yet despite Trump’s strong support among the Senate’s rank and file, Hegseth still might be in trouble. Tuesday’s [latest](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/pete-hegseth-first-marriage?srsltid=AfmBOoocV8nBUL9F1g3iJtCAJN31whyYk7K3HlL5WTp2zNlLvSbI44B2)—that Hegseth billed hotels to his then-wife’s credit card while carrying out five affairs—further loosens his hold on the nomination. Trump loves to throw a surprise at his audience. He doesn’t like it the other way. Which may explain why some of his allies at the Capitol are not really investing their time preparing for Hegseth’s potential nomination hearing. Given just how messy the announced pick has been so far, that could be a waste of time. Washington is just watching for Trump to tire of this and move on to a different pick. Welcome to the Waiting Game, Trump’s Version. _Make sense of what matters in Washington._ [_Sign up for the D.C. Brief newsletter_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/signup?nln=dc-brief&source=dc%5Fonsite)_._ ## Transcript Mr. Hagab, how are you feeling about the process so far? How was your meeting with Senator Joni Ernst yesterday? Pro doctor B. What did President elect Trump tell you, Mr. Hage? He's behind us all the way. Spoke to me this morning. Do you think you have the votes to get confirmed? That's why we're here to meet with senators. It's been a wonderful process. There's an incredible amount of knowledge in the US Senate Senate Armed Services Committee. Men and women who have studied these issues, have invested their lives in them and as someone who's hoping to earn their support as the nominee for secretary of Defense. I welcome that knowledge. I welcome that advice, and that's why we're here. I know that there's allegations out there. They have been unsubstantiated at this stage of the game. I talked to him about that. I gave him some suggestions, some advice about how he might be able to handle that. I'm looking forward to getting information from him in terms of responding to those allegations, but I really do see a path forward for him to be successful in being accepted by the Senate for this position. He's got more work to do. I think he's capable of doing that, and I think the open hearings will help so that he can respond publicly to the allegations that have been made. PTX have gone a long way today, in my opinion, in getting my full support. But I want him to be able to answer in front of everybody else the questions that are there and to do a good job on it. That was my advice to him was come prepared, be prepared to answer the questions. But, look, I really think the president's got the right approach in this particular nominee in terms of his vision for making the Department of Defense more lethal. I think that's what the American people want. So I just had a great meeting with Pete, the next Secretary of Defense. I'll tell you why I support him. I admire people that are willing to put on the uniform and lead troops into battle. I'm very proud of my father. He was one of 3,000 people that did all four combat jumps with AC in the Award, and after that, fought in the Battle of the Bulge. I'm very proud of him. Same way, I'm proud of Pete. There's not a lot of Americans that have been willing to put on the uniform and have actually led troops in battle and brought them back safely and knows people that lost their lives, knows people that are injured. When he goes to the Department of Defense, he'll walk in with the mentality that he's going to take care of our war fighters. He's going to make sure they have the right equipment and they're not put in harm's way when they shouldn't be put in harm's way. He's not going to support forever wars. He's not going to support going into battle or we don't even have a plan. So I think he's going to do a great job. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure he's confirmed as the Secretary of Defense. I think we all have to really appreciate appreciate the people that are willing to put on the uniform and defend the freedom of this country. Thank you, Bill. Certain you guys. Strikon can you spot the Washington Post report? Stikeon feel like you're making progress in these meetings? Wait. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7199646/pete-hegseth-nomination-trump-republican-senators/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7199646/pete-hegseth-nomination-trump-republican-senators/"},"headline":"Donald Trump’s Nomination of Pete Hegseth Is on Shaky Ground","datePublished":"2024-12-04T00:42:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-19T07:48:57.091Z","description":"Hill staffers are watching the Pete Hegseth nomination with little certainty.","url":"https://time.com/7199646/pete-hegseth-nomination-trump-republican-senators/","keywords":["The D.C. 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