Pete Hegseth, the former National Guard officer who President-elect Trump has tapped to lead the Department of Defense, said he’s had “great” conversations with senators amid efforts to shore up his confirmation and was “standing right here in this fight.”
On Thursday, Hegseth said he refused to back down from a fight as his nomination remains in limbo amid drinking and sexual misconduct allegations. He has denied any wrongdoing.
“We’ve had great conversations, about who I am and what I believe,” Hegseth said of his meetings with senators. “And, frankly, the man I am today, because of my faith in my lord and savior Jesus Christ and my wife Jenny right here, I’m a different man than I was years ago.”
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Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump’s nominee to be defense secretary, is joined by his wife, Jennifer Rauchet, as they walk through the basement of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
“And that’s a redemption story that I think a lot of Americans appreciate,” he added. “And I know from fellow vets that I’ve spent time with, they resonate with that as well. You fight, you go through tough things in tough places on behalf of your country. And sometimes that changes you a little bit.”
An email was recently leaked from Hegseth’s mother, Penelope Hegseth, in which she was critical of his past relationships with women. She joined “FOX and Friends” on Wednesday morning to set the record straight, saying she wrote the email in an impassioned moment after her son’s divorce, but apologized hours after sending it.
Hegseth’s mother also said she did not believe any of the accusations against him.
TRUMP FLOATS DESANTIS AS POTENTIAL DEFENSE SECRETARY REPLACEMENT IF HEGSETH FALTERS
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump’s nominee to be defense secretary, and his wife, Jennifer Rauchet, attend a meeting with Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Multiple sources confirmed to Fox News that Trump is reportedly considering nominating Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as defense secretary in place of Hegseth amid the allegations against him.
But Hegseth brushed off the potential replacement, telling reporters that he was prepared to fight.
“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 said.
Hegseth also told reporters that he doesn’t answer to the media, only to Trump, God, his family and the senators slated to vote on his confirmation.
On Thursday, Hegseth said the conversations with senators have been “robust, candid at times with great questions on policy and personality.”
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“So we’re going to earn those votes,” he said. “We’re fighting all the way through the tape. I’m grateful to have the president’s support, because his vision for this Department of Defense is to bring it back to its core capacity of deterring our enemies and, if necessary, defeating those enemies.”
Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.
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