Republicans pushed forward with Pete Hegseth’s nomination as secretary of defense on Wednesday even after a damaging report emerged claiming that his second wife lived in fear of his “abuse.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he plans to get the full Senate to hold a final confirmation vote on Hegseth before the end of the week.
There are scant signs of any Republican defections that would endanger Hegseth’s nomination, even after his first wife wrote in a sworn statement to the Senate that his second wife feared for her safety due to his abusive behavior.
Danielle Hegseth said that Samantha Hegseth, who succeeded her as his spouse, told her that she feared Pete Hegseth and they even created a so-called safe word to report abuse.
“I believe what Samantha told me because what she told me is consistent with what I personally observed of Hegseth’s erratic and aggressive behavior over many years,” Danielle Hegseth said in the affadavit.
“I have chosen to come forward publicly, at significant personal sacrifice, because I am deeply concerned by what Hegseth’s confirmation would mean for our military and our country,” she added.
She said she shared the information with the FBI in December but the information was not shared with Congress as senators consider Hegseth’s nomination to lead the Pentagon.
Pete Hegseth vehemently denied the accusation and Samantha Hegseth herself denies being the victim of abuse at the hands of her ex.
Pete Hegseth attorney Tim Parlatore said the statement was little more than sour grapes from an ex-wife with “an axe to grind against the entire Hegseth family.”
The Hegseth nomination once looked like an tough fight because of his checkered personal history, including reports of heavy drinking and accusations of sex assault, as well as his hostility to women serving in combat.
But he allayed GOP fears with a confident display at his confirmation hearing.
Hegseth needs 50 votes for confirmation, meaning he could lose the votes of as many as three GOP senators and still win approval. So far, no Republicans have suggested they will oppose him and Democratic Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) has said he may support the nomination.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) compared the Hegseth claims to the allegations against Brett Kavanaugh, which wound up galvanizing GOP support for his successful confirmation to the Supreme Court.
“I don’t really have anything to offer,” Cornyn said. “I was involved in the Kavanaugh hearings, where people came out of the closet making all sorts of false allegations.”