[Politics] Donald Trump says he thinks Pete Hegseth can get confirmed in NBC News interview

[Aronus]

Former President Donald Trump expressed confidence in his pick to run the Pentagon, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, amid allegations of excessive drinking and abuse of women.

"It looks like Pete is doing well now," Trump said in an exclusive interview with "Meet the Press" Moderator Kristen Welker that will air Sunday." "I mean, people were a little bit concerned. He’s a young guy, with a tremendous track record actually. He went to Princeton and went to Harvard. He was a good student at both. But he loves the military and I think people are starting to see it so we’ll be working on his nomination along with a lot of others."

Read more on this story at NBCNews.com and watch Kristen Welker’s full interview on “Meet the Press” on Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. ET or check local listings.

NBC News reported on Tuesday that Hegseth's nomination was in peril with as many as six Senate Republicans not currently comfortable with supporting his bid, three GOP sources with direct knowledge of the nomination process said, amid reports highlighting concerns from colleagues over his drinking and allegations of sexual misconduct.

NBC News reported Tuesday that Hegseth's drinking worried his Fox News colleagues, 10 current and former employees of the network said. Two of those sources said Hegseth smelled of alcohol before he went on air more than a dozen times. A Trump transition spokesperson called the claims "completely unfounded and false."

Separately, Hegseth, an Army National Guard veteran, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in California in 2017, as a police report that was made public after Trump nominated him detailed. He was not charged, and Hegseth said the encounter was consensual. He paid the woman an undisclosed amount as part of a settlement.

 

Donald Trump says he thinks Pete Hegseth can get confirmed in NBC News interview