(Bloomberg) -- President-elect Donald Trump said he still had confidence that Pete Hegseth, his embattled choice for Defense secretary, could secure confirmation in the US Senate and that his team would be working to advance the nomination.
“Yes, I do. I really do,” Trump responded in an interview with NBC News’ Meet the Press taped on Friday when asked directly if he had confidence in his pick. He praised Hegseth as a “very smart guy” and “basically a military guy.”
Trump said he had not received assurances from senators that Hegseth would be confirmed but added “I think he will.”
“I’ve had a lot of senators call me up saying he’s fantastic,” the president-elect said.
Trump’s public demonstration of support comes at the end of a week that saw Hegseth battle to rescue his nomination after mounting accusations of sexual misconduct, alcohol abuse and mismanagement of veterans organizations in multiple reports. Hegseth has denied the allegations.
Hegseth, a former Fox & Friends Weekend co-host, can only afford to lose three Republican senators, assuming all Democrats oppose him, and spent the week meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Earlier Friday evening, Iowa Republican Joni Ernst, a military veteran and a rape survivor who had previously declined to say if she would advance his nomination, said she would meet again with him next week and said that Hegseth deserved a “fair hearing.” Ernst is a powerful voice on military matters in the Senate and her support would be crucial to whether he gets confirmed.
Hegseth has struck a defiant tone even as Trump’s team considered Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the president-elect’s former presidential primary rival, as a possible replacement. Ernst also is seen as a potential alternative 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.
“It looks like Pete is doing well now,” Trump said in the interview Friday. “People were a little bit concerned. He’s a young guy, with a tremendous track record actually.”
“We’ll be working on his nomination along with a lot of others,” he added.
Trump, who does not drink himself, was asked about the allegations that Hegseth has struggled with drinking.
“I’ve spoken to people that know him very well and they say he does not have a drinking problem,” Trump said.
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