WASHINGTON — Pete Hegseth told reporters Thursday that he still has Donald Trump’s full support to be defense secretary, but he was not able to tamp down concerns among key GOP senators this week that he deserves the job.
Often accompanied by his wife Jennifer and former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, Hegseth made the rounds of the offices of Republican senators, promising some of them, including incoming Senate Armed Services Committee chair Roger Wicker, R-Miss., that if confirmed he would not drink.
“This is the biggest deployment of my life, and there won’t be a drop of alcohol on my lips while I’m doing it,” Hegseth said in an interview with Megyn Kelly on Wednesday.
The Minnesota native and graduate of Forest Lake Area High School has been dogged by media reports of sexual misconduct, alcohol abuse and mismanagement of the finances of veteran organizations he once headed.
Those allegations follow an earlier disclosure that a woman alleged Hegseth sexually assaulted her after he prevented her from leaving a hotel room following a California Federation of Republican Women convention in October 2017.
Hegseth denies the allegations.
Yet the nominee’s blitz this week on Capitol Hill did not seem to sway key GOP senators, including Joni Ernst of Iowa, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee that would hold his confirmation hearing.
A combat veteran and rape survivor, Ernst notably declined to voice support for Hegseth after meeting with him on Wednesday and then again on Thursday on Fox News, which Trump is known to watch.
Other female GOP senators have also declined to say they support Hegseth’s candidacy, which is bad news for Hegseth. Since Democrats oppose the nomination, a defection of just four Republican senators would kill his bid.
While the Trump-Vance transition team continues to defend the nominee, the president-elect appears not to have reached out to any of the wavering senators to secure their support.
ABC News was told Trump has expressed to those close to him that Hegseth should have been more honest and forthcoming about the challenges he could face getting through the confirmation process given his history.
Craig in another hot race
After easily winning reelection to her congressional seat last month, Rep. Angie Craig, D-2nd District, plunged into a race that could be tougher.
Craig is lobbying fellow House Democrats to support her bid to be the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, which would put her at the center of negotiations over a new farm bill.
To win the job of top Democrat on that committee, Craig would need to depose the lawmaker who now has that job: Rep. David Scott, D-Georgia.
Scott, 79, was absent from Congress for two weeks last month, receiving treatment for a back injury. That absence sparked concerns among fellow Democrats that his age and health hurt his abilities to perform his duties.
But Scott is back to work and says he will fight to keep his position on the committee.
Another Democrat seeking Scott’s position is Jim Costa of California, a 20-year member of the panel and third-generation farmer.
Craig has served on the House Agriculture Committee since she assumed office in 2019. But last year she also sought a seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
To serve on that panel, Craig would have been required to relinquish her seat on the Agriculture Committee. But she received a waiver, or special permission, to serve on both committees.
House Democratic leaders and Democratic steering committee members usually decide committee assignments for party members. But since there’s competition to be the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, a vote in the full Democratic caucus is expected, perhaps as early as next week.
In a letter to Democratic colleagues seeking support, Craig said her background in Arkansas is a good credential for the job.
“I grew up in Arkansas as the granddaughter of a farm foreman. Agriculture is in my blood,” Craig wrote. “I watched my grandfather farm beans and rice until the 1980s farm crisis forced him off the land. And as a young girl growing up in a mobile home — who faced food insecurity and inconsistent access to health care at times, I know firsthand the impact agriculture policy in Congress can have on real people.”
The controversial pardon
President Joe Biden’s pardon of son Hunter roiled the Capitol this week, with Republicans up in arms that the president went back on promises he would not do so and a number of Democrats crying “foul” over the deed.
Hunter Biden was convicted of federal gun charges because he failed to disclose his drug use on a background-check application and also pleaded guilty to federal charges of tax evasion.
The White House said Biden decided to pardon his son after agonizing over the decision because he felt Hunter had been unfairly targeted by political opponents.
That did not sit well with outgoing Rep. Dean Phillips, D-3rd District, who is leaving Congress after his failure to defeat Biden in several early Democratic presidential primaries. Phillips also indicated that certain charges leveled against president-elect Trump were politically motivated.
“Two things can be true at once,” Phillips posted on X. “Neither Hunter Biden nor Donald Trump would have been charged with certain crimes had they not been political figures. Pardoning powers have been abused by Trump and now Biden, and must be reformed.”
In case you missed it:
▪️Earlier this week, we reported on President-elect Donald Trump’s possible change of heart after damning reports came out about his pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth.
▪️MinnPost also reported on Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s bump from the No. 4 leadership post among Senate Democrats to No. 3 as their Policy and Communications Committee chair.
▪️Ava Kian took a look at a Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis report about the high cost of housing in Minnesota — to builders and renters alike.
▪️Also in Minnesota, Capitol reporter Peter Callaghan looked at the latest state revenue forecast and what DFL and GOP party leaders have to say about it.
▪️Finally, we wrote about plans that Democratic attorneys general — including Minnesota’s Keith Ellison — have in mind for pushing back against Trump administration initiatives.
Your questions and comments
One reader this week was quite blunt about his assessment of President-elect Trump’s picks for his cabinet and senior administration position.
“400 million Americans and not one decent player in the Republican Power Parade?” he asked.
Another reader was critical of Trump’s choice of Pete Hegseth to lead the nation’s military.
“I’m afraid that, like Matt Gaetz, the word ‘sleazy’ is what immediately comes to my mind, despite Hegseth’s combat record and Ivy League degree,” the reader wrote. Please keep your comments, and any questions, coming.
I’ll try my best to respond. Please contact me at aradelat@minnpost.com.
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