WASHINGTON ― President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Defense said Tuesday that all the reports of his excessive drinking were false.
Pete Hegseth also said at his confirmation hearing that he wouldn’t drink another drop if he’s confirmed by the Senate to lead the U.S. military.
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Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) first confronted Hegseth, a former Fox News host and Army veteran, about allegations he had a drinking problem.
“I have read multiple reports of your regularly being drunk at work, including by people who worked with you at Fox News,” Hirono said.
“Senator, those are multiple false anonymous reports peddled by NBC News that run directly contradictory to the dozens of men and women at Fox News Channel who I worked with and said they never saw that,” Hegseth said.
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Allegations of alcohol abuse, financial mismanagement and sexual misconduct have dogged Hegseth since Trump announced him as his choice to lead the Defense Department. Hegseth is one of several Trump nominees who are so controversial it’s possible they won’t win votes from 50 of the 53 Republicans in the Senate, meaning Trump would have to pick someone else. Already, one of Trump’s top nominees, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), withdrew from consideration to be attorney general rather than face a doomed Senate confirmation vote.
But no Republicans have said they would definitely oppose Hegseth, and none asked any hard questions about his personal conduct on...
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