(Bloomberg) -- President-elect Donald Trump offered support for Pete Hegseth, his embattled pick for Defense secretary, amid allegations of personal and financial misconduct that threaten the nominee’s prospects for confirmation.
“Pete Hegseth is doing very well. His support is strong and deep, much more so than the Fake News would have you believe,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social network on Friday.
“He will be a fantastic, high energy, Secretary of Defense,” he added. “Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!”
Trump offered public support after a tumultuous week in which Hegseth faced more allegations of sexual misconduct, alcohol abuse and mismanagement of two veterans organizations — and with the president-elect’s team examining alternative candidates for the post.
Trump aides are considering replacing Hegseth with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who ran in the Republican primary against the president-elect, according to people familiar with the matter.
This week, Hegseth met with Senate Republicans, sat for an interview with Megyn Kelly and even saw his own mother appear on Fox News to defend him in a bid to shore up his nomination.
Still, Hegseth has struggled to stem the criticism and doubts over his selection.
Republican Senator Joni Ernst, a combat veteran and rape survivor who is a powerful voice on military matters in the Senate, declined to support his nomination after a private meeting with him, calling for further investigation into the allegations around Hegseth.
Hegseth has struck a defiant note despite facing a narrow path to Senate confirmation.
“As long as Donald Trump wants me in this fight, I’m going to be standing right here in this fight, fighting to bring our Pentagon back to what it needs to be,” he told reporters after meetings with Republican senators this week.
Earlier: Hegseth Is Defiant as Ernst Declines to Back Defense Nominee
Hegseth is facing allegations that he raped a woman in 2017, a claim he has repeatedly denied. He was not charged after the allegation, but paid the accuser a financial settlement. An attorney for Hegseth has said the encounter was consensual.
A New Yorker report also detailed his resignation from two veterans advocacy groups. The report highlighted a 2015 whistleblower report that described Hegseth as intoxicated on the job as president of Concerned Veterans for America and alleged that he and members of his management team pursued sexual relationships with the group’s female staff. Years earlier, another veterans’ advocacy group Hegseth also ran closed amid allegations of financial mismanagement.
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