Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, wore a suit coat lined with the American flag while on Capitol Hill to meet with senators on Wednesday.
As he was walking through a Senate office building hallway, a reporter called out to Hegseth, “What do you hope to talk to Sen. [Susan] Collins about today?”
“This is how we’re feeling today, right here,” Hegseth answered as he pulled his suit coat open to show the American flag.
“Feeling great,” he added.
Pete Hegseth just revealed his American flag suit lining when asked by CNN reporter about his meetings with GOP Senators:
“This is how we’re feeling today. Right here.”
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/4IkoskVHi6
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) December 11, 2024
Hegseth appears to be gaining momentum in his efforts to be confirmed as the next secretary of defense.
GOP Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa released a positive statement after meeting with the Army combat veteran Monday, indicating she would support him through the confirmation process.
Do you support Pete Hegseth’s nomination?
Yes: 99% (74 Votes)
No: 1% (1 Votes)
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska offered a less robust, “I had a good exchange and we’ll see what the process bears,” after the two met Tuesday, ABC News reported.
Hegseth characterized his Wednesday sit-down with Collins as “a great meeting.”
“I’m certainly not going to assume anything about where the senator stands. This is a process that we respect and appreciate,” Hegseth said regarding the Maine senator’s support.
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Meanwhile, Collins told reporters that the two had a “good, substantive discussion,” ABC News reported.
“I asked virtually every question under the sun,” she recounted. “I pressed him on both his position on military issues as well as the allegations against him.”
“I, obviously, always wait until we have an FBI background check, and one is underway in the case of Mr. Hegseth, and I wait to see the committee hearing before reaching a final decision,” Collins said.
Moderates Murkowski and Collins are seen as potentially the most likely among the GOP ranks to vote against the Trump nominee, particularly given the unsubstantiated allegation that Hegseth sexually assaulted a woman in 2017.
Murkowski opposed the appointment of now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who had been accused of sexually assaulting a female in high school.
Collins ultimately decided to support Kavanaugh’s nomination, concluding that the four witnesses accuser Christine Blasey Ford named could not corroborate her story.
Hegseth said a 2017 sexual encounter with a woman at a California hotel was consensual. He noted police looked into the assault allegations and no charges were brought. “The matter was fully investigated and I was completely cleared,” Hegseth told reporters last month, according to the Associated Press.
Hegseth has also been accused of drinking in excess at times while working as a television host at Fox News.
He refuted the allegation during an interview with Megyn Kelly earlier this month, arguing people should “check the tape” regarding whether he was ever drunk or hung over on air.
Kelly noted, “I did see every single member of ‘Fox & Friends’ … go on the air and say, ‘This is BS.’”
Hegseth further committed that if he should become secretary of defense, he would view it like a combat deployment and not drink at all while in office.
On Wednesday, Hegseth preemptively shot down a story alleging he had falsely claimed in the past about being accepted to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point.
We understand that ProPublica (the Left Wing hack group) is planning to publish a knowingly false report that I was not accepted to West Point in 1999.
Here’s my letter of acceptance signed by West Point Superintendent, Lieutenant General Daniel Christman, US Army. pic.twitter.com/UOhOVZSfhJ
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) December 11, 2024
The veteran ultimately chose to attend Princeton University for undergraduate school, where he earned his Army commission through the Reserve Officer Training Corps.
Why did @WestPoint_USMA’s public affairs office deny TWICE, on the record, that @PeteHegseth applied and was accepted to the academy?
This is shocking.
West Point’s leadership owes an explanation to not just Trump’s nominee to be @SecDef, but also the American people. https://t.co/M5kkLzG02f
— Senator Bill Hagerty (@SenatorHagerty) December 11, 2024
The Washington Times reported Wednesday that West Point confirmed Hegseth had been offered admission to the class of 2003 and acknowledged the school’s public affairs office initially provided ProPublica “an incorrect statement” indicating he had not been accepted.
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