Senate Republicans offered mixed responses Thursday to President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement that he will nominate Pete Hegseth, a Fox News personality accused of sexual assault, to lead the Defense Department following the release of a police report concerning sexual assault allegations against him.
Some senators defended Trump’s pick, while others voiced some trepidation, and a senator told NBC News “I don’t care” when approached about a police report released Wednesday tied to an allegation of sexual assault against Hegseth in 2017.
Asked whether the sexual assault report gave him any pause about the possibility of Hegseth’s serving in Trump’s Cabinet, Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., who is a member of the Armed Services Committee, said, “It’s a pretty big problem, given that we have, you know, we have a sexual assault problem in our military.”
Cramer would not comment on whether the allegation would affect his vote, noting a long process ahead.
“You know, this is why you have background checks. This is why you have hearings. This is why you have to go through the scrutiny. I’m not going to prejudge him, but yeah, it’s a pretty concerning accusation,” Cramer said.
Trump last week named Hegseth, a longtime ally, as his choice to lead the Pentagon, describing him as “tough, smart and a true believer in America First.”
An unidentified woman told police in 2017 that Hegseth took her phone and prevented her from leaving a hotel room before he sexually assaulted her after a Republican women’s convention in California, according to a police report released Wednesday night.
Hegseth was not charged and has denied wrongdoing.
Karoline Leavitt, a transition spokeswoman for Trump and his pick to be White House press secretary, said in a statement that the report “corroborates what Mr. Hegseth’s attorneys have said all along: the incident was fully investigated and no charges were filed because police found the allegations to be false.”
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., also defended Trump’s pick, saying he had reviewed the report and would push for Hegseth’s confirmation.
Asked by NBC News asked about Hegseth’s qualifications to lead the Pentagon, Mullin called him a “solid individual” and “the right man for the job.”
“It’s not like he has no experience inside the military. I think he is perfect for the position,” Mullin said. “I think he’s very talented. And there’s a reason why President Trump trusts him.”
Mullin also rebuffed the sexual misconduct allegations detailed in the 2017 report, calling them “an unfortunate situation that took place” and adding that Hegseth “was accused of doing something that I don’t believe he did.”
Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., also called Hegseth a “great choice by @realDonaldTrump, to change Washington,” on X, noting his plans to support Hegseth’s confirmation.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., tried to draw a connection between his response to the allegations against Hegseth and how he had responded to an allegation of rape against President Joe Biden dating to 1993 that surfaced during his 2020 presidential campaign.
“When Biden was accused of rape, I said, ‘That’s not Biden I know,'” Graham said, adding that lawmakers would not “try” Hegseth based on “press statements,” apparently incorrectly referring to the police report.
When NBC News told him that the allegations against Hegseth were contained in a police report and not detailed in a media statement, Graham said: “I don’t care.”
Two other picks to serve in top jobs in Trump’s Cabinet have also faced potentially damaging allegations of sexual misconduct.
Vanity Fair reported in July on claims by a woman who was hired in the late 1990s to work as a babysitter for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick to oversee the Health and Human Services Department, and said he groped her while she was working for Kennedy and his wife.
Kennedy responded to the allegation over the summer by saying: “I said in my announcement speech that I have so many skeletons in my closet that if they could all vote, I could run for king of the world.”
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida withdrew his name from consideration for attorney general Thursday amid allegations that he had sex with a minor and paid two other women for sex in 2017. He has long denied the allegations.
After Gaetz withdrew his name, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told NBC News that there were “similar, challenging allegations” with Hegseth.
“I look forward to seeing how those are answered,” Coons said.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., urged for the Senate’s vetting process to go forward in spite of the allegations plaguing Trump’s nominees, saying, “Let’s go through the committee process here.”
“Now, obviously, Gaetz ultimately decided he didn’t want to go through the process,” Hawley said. “But you know, if you have a nominee who wants to, I would say let him. Let him testify, and let’s not make judgments and reach conclusions until they’ve had a chance to testify and address these concerns.”
