HEGSETH: ‘THERE WON’T BE A DROP OF ALCOHOL ON MY LIPS’: Embattled defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth embarked on a multi-front PR campaign on Wednesday in an attempt to win over the votes he needs for confirmation, insisting that President-elect Donald Trump still has his back. “I spoke to the president-elect this morning. He said: ‘Keep going, keep fighting. I’m behind you all the way.’” Hegseth told reporters as he began a round of meetings with key senators who hold his fate in their hands. “Why would I back down? I’ve always been a fighter. I’m here for the fighters. This is personal and passionate for me.”
Even more extensive than the allegations of sexual assault, which Hegseth has vehemently denied, were the concerns over the numerous reports of his heavy drinking, which he moved to combat with a vow of sobriety. “I normally don’t discuss what we have talked about specifically, but you know, the allegation was made about him being intoxicated at several times. And so, the questions that every member will be asking him led to his statement,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), incoming chairman of the Armed Services told CNN. “I haven’t made a decision, but I’m looking to be supportive.”
In an interview with former Fox News host Megyn Kelly’s SiriusXM show earlier in the day, Hegseth denied he had a problem with alcohol or ever committed sexual assault. “First of all, I’ve never had a drinking problem. I don’t. Never. No one has ever approached me and said, ‘Oh, you should really look at getting help for drinking.’ Never. I’ve never sought counseling. Never sought help. I respect and appreciate people who do.”
Hegseth promised, if confirmed, he is “not going to have a drink at all” so that as defense secretary, he would be “fully dialed in” 24/7. “This is the biggest deployment of my life, and there won’t be a drop of alcohol on my lips while I’m doing it,” he said.
PETE HEGSETH SURVIVES ANOTHER DAY WITH CABINET NOMINATION ON SHAKY GROUND
‘I MAY HAVE BEEN DRINKING, BUT…’: Asked by Kelly about the damning police report in which a woman alleged a sexual assault occurred in a California hotel room in 2017, Hegseth insisted it was “absolutely not” a rape.
“I’ve been honest about that encounter, starting with law enforcement. … I may have been drinking, but I was cognizant enough to remember every single detail,” he said in the interview. “I’m not here to say that my conduct was good … Being in a hotel room with someone that’s, you know, not the person you’re with is not OK. I own up to that.”
Paying his accuser in return for her signing an NDA was something Hegseth said he “thought he had to do” at the time to protect his reputation. “I was duly married, I was up for potential jobs in the administration, so my profile was higher. … She got lawyers that reached out to mine and said, ‘If you don’t come forward and if you don’t pay money, then ultimately, we’re going to out him,” he said. “I did it to protect my wife, I did it to protect my family, and I did it to protect my job, and it was a negotiation.”
HEGSETH’S MOM: ‘HE’S A CHANGED MAN’: In an appearance on Fox & Friends Wednesday morning, Hegseth’s mother, Penelope, said Pete is “a good father, a good husband, and a wonderful son,” and that she instantly regretted what she wrote to him in an email in 2018 while he was going through a divorce, in which she accused him of mistreating women for years.
“We say things, and I wrote that in haste. I wrote that with deep emotions. I wrote that as a parent, and about two hours later, I should — I should — my husband told me I should think through things a little bit more. But Pete and I are both very passionate people. I wrote that out of love, and about two hours later, I retracted it with an apology email, but nobody’s seen that,” she told Fox Host Steve Doocy.
“I want people to look at Pete and judge people or understand him for who he is today and to disregard the media,” she said, arguing that his life experience, including his military tours, since his painful divorce has made him a better man. “Pete is a new person. He’s redeemed, forgiven, changed. I think we all are after seven years. I believe he’s the man for the job.”
“He’s a changed man, and I just hope people will get to know who Pete is today, especially our dear female senators, that you would listen to him. Listen with your heart to the truth of Pete.”
PETE HEGSETH: I’VE FACED FIRE BEFORE. I WON’T BACK DOWN
Good Thursday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Christopher Tremoglie (@chriswtremo). Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow me on Threads and/or on X @jamiejmcintyre.
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HAPPENING TODAY: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin meets with visiting Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan at the Pentagon at 11 a.m.
TRUMP’S PICK FOR ARMY SEC: President-elect Donald Trump announced on his social media platform, Truth Social, that he’s settled on Daniel Driscoll, a former soldier and Iraq War veteran, as his nominee for secretary of the Army.
Driscoll, 38, ran for Congress in 2020 in North Carolina but didn’t get past the primary. He’s been serving as a senior adviser to Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, a Yale Law School classmate.
“Dan graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in three years to join the fight with the U.S. Army. After completing U.S. Army Ranger school, Dan deployed with the 10th Mountain Division as a Cavalry Scout Platoon Leader in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. After returning from combat, Dan graduated from Yale Law School on the Post-9/11 GI Bill,” Trump said in his announcement.
“Dan brings a powerful combination of experiences to serve as a disruptor and change agent … Dan will be a fearless and relentless fighter for America’s Soldiers and the America First agenda.”
TRUMP PICKS BILLIONAIRE ASTRONAUT WITH SPACEX LINKS TO LEAD NASA
END TO UKRAINE AID? The Biden administration is in a hurry to get as much military aid to Ukraine as possible before Donald Trump takes office and possibly cuts off the assistance. One way to do that would be to attach a Ukraine funding measure to the continuing resolution that Congress must pass next month to keep the government funded.
However, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) threw cold water on the idea at a Capitol Hill news conference with other Republican House leaders.
“I’m not planning to do that. There are developments by the hour in Ukraine,” Johnson said. “I think, as we predicted and as I said to all of you weeks before the election, if Donald Trump is elected, it will change the dynamic of the Russian war on Ukraine, and we’re seeing that happen.”
“So it is not the place of Joe Biden to make that decision now,” he continued. “We have a newly-elected president, and we’re going to wait and take the new commander in chief’s direction on all of that, so I don’t expect any Ukraine funding to come up now.”
BLINKEN: UKRAINE NEEDS MORE TROOPS ON THE FRONT: While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky consistently argues that Western weapons and ammunition are not being provided fast enough, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is suggesting the weapons won’t turn the tide unless there are more Ukrainian troops in the fight.
He made this point at a news conference at NATO headquarters and a sitdown interview with Reuters news service. “Mobilization — This is critical, because even with the money, even with the munitions, there have to be people on the front lines to deal with the Russian aggression,” Blinken said following the meeting of NATO foreign ministers. “Ukraine has hard decisions to make about further mobilization, but these are necessary decisions.”
“I fully both understand that and respect that,” Blinken said in the Reuters interview. “But for example, getting younger people into the fight, we think, many of us think is necessary. Right now, 18- to 25-year-olds are not in the fight. And making sure that people are there — not just the weapons, not just the munitions, not just the money, but mobilized forces — is also essential to success.”
“How the Ukrainians do that, what things they put in place to mobilize more forces, their decision. I think the assessment that we have across the board in NATO is that they do need to do more to get more people to the front lines,” he said. “We have a commitment, though. For every person, every soldier that Ukraine mobilizes, we’re committed to making sure that they have the training and the equipment they need to effectively defend the country. And again, that’s what we focused on.”
RUSSIAN GENERAL MAKES RARE CALL TO TOP US MILITARY LEADER
THE RUNDOWN:
Wall Street Journal: Pete Hegseth: I’ve Faced Fire Before. I Won’t Back Down
Washington Examiner: Pete Hegseth survives another day with Cabinet nomination on shaky ground
Washington Examiner: Pete Hegseth says he’s a victim of the ‘art of the smear’ designed to tank defense secretary nomination
Washington Examiner: Joni Ernst emerges as Hegseth backup with defense nomination in limbo
Washington Examiner: DeSantis elevation to Trump’s defense secretary would upend Florida’s gubernatorial race
Washington Examiner: Wesley Hunt on defense secretary short list if Hegseth nomination fails
Washington Examiner: War with China would exhaust munition stockpiles ‘very rapidly,’ Jake Sullivan says
Washington Examiner: Trump picks billionaire astronaut with SpaceX links to lead NASA
Washington Examiner: South Korean president faces joining long line of leaders to meet ignoble end after martial law frenzy
Washington Examiner: California Democrat leads charge for Biden administration to close ‘dangerous’ ICE detention center
Washington Examiner: House Republicans prod Biden’s USCIS director over unchecked mass migration
Washington Examiner: White House considering blanket pardons for officials in Trump’s line of fire Report
Washington Examiner: Russian general makes rare call to top US military leader
Washington Examiner: Tom Rogan Opinion: Increase pressure on Western facilitators of Hong Kong repression
Washington Examiner: Tom Rogan Opinion: Nuclear war with Russia is possible but highly improbable
Bloomberg: Pete Hegseth’s Narrowing Chances for Defense Post Now Turn on Ernst
Defense News: Donald Trump Taps JD Vance Adviser as Next Army Secretary
Air & Space Forces Magazine: 8th Air Force Commander: B-1 and B-2 Fleet Retirements Will Be ‘Conditions Based’
DefenseScoop: How the Pentagon Is Moving to Counter Converging IT and OT threats
Wall Street Journal: OpenAI Enters Silicon Valley’s Hot New Business: War
Defense One: Could Trump’s Pick for Pentagon No. 2 Accelerate the Pentagon’s Hypersonic Efforts?
Inside Defense: Sullivan Previews Upcoming Move to Loosen Missile Technology Exports
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Space Force Activates Component in Japan, with ‘Historic Opportunity’ to Deepen Ties
C4ISRNET: Space Force Racing to Meet Training, Testing Demands
Aviation Week: Lockheed Martin CFO Warns of Delay In F-35 Contract Action
The War Zone: F-35A’s 25mm Gun Still Needs Tests to Verify It Works
Air & Space Forces Magazine: B-52s, F-35s Fly Live-Fire Arctic Exercise with Norway and UK
Breaking Defense: Rapid Pace of Modern Conflict Requires Modern Pace of Training: Officers
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Airman Development Command: Coming in 2025, Will Be ‘Foundational’ Change, Allvin Says
Air & Space Forces Magazine: 2 Air Force Generals Picked to Lead New Acquisition Centers
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Electronic Warfare: The Invisible Battlespace
Breaking Defense: Boeing Fighter Chief, Steve Nordlund, Retiring
19fortyfive.com: 5 Places World War III Could Break Out in 2025
19fortyfive.com: DOGE Needs to Tackle The Department of Defense’s CR Nightmare
19fortyfive.com: China Now Has Almost 200 J-20 Stealth Fighters
19fortyfive.com: JH-XX: China’s Very Own Version of the B-21 Raider Bomber?
The Cipher Brief: Memo to the 47th President: A Roadmap for the US and the Middle East
The Cipher Brief: Are We Positioned to Win the Race for AI Supremacy?
The Cipher Brief: Before Confirming Tulsi Gabbard, the Senate Must Read the Fine Print
The Cipher Brief: The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI): ‘Coordinated Orchestra’ or ‘Loveless Marriage’?
THE CALENDAR:
THURSDAY | DECEMBER 5
9 a.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies virtual discussion: “How the Global Strike Command is evolving in an era of peer competition,” with Gen. Thomas Bussiere, commander of the Air Force Global Strike Command https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/event/an-gen-thomas-a-bussiere/
9:30 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Examining People’s Republic of China Activities in the Arctic,” with Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for Arctic and Global Resilience Iris Ferguson; and Matthew Funaiole, vice president of iDeas Lab https://www.csis.org/events/examining-prc-activities-arctic
10:30 a.m. 419 Dirksen — Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing: “ Implementation of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act,” with testimony from Adam Keith, senior director of accountability, Human Rights First; and William Browder, chief executive officer, Hermitage Capital Management London (NOTE: no livestream is planned.) https://www.foreign.senate.gov/hearings/implementation-of-the-global-magnitsky-laws
11 a.m. — Hudson Institute virtual discussion: “Taiwan’s Security Needs for the Next U.S. Administration,” with Miles Yu, director of the Hudson Institute’s China Center; Jason Hsu, Hudson Institute visiting fellow; and Riley Walters, Hudson Institute senior fellow https://www.hudson.org/events/taiwans-security-needs
2:30 p.m. — Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe hearing: “The Role of Belarus in Russia’s Crimes,” with Matvei Kupreichyk, BELPOL public representative; Acting Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis; and Kateryna Rashevska, legal expert at the Regional Center for Human Rights https://www.youtube.com/live/zv3sfwRbv98
4 p.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion: “ Russo-Ukrainian war,” with former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko; and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/a-conversation-with-former-president-of-ukraine
FRIDAY | DECEMBER 6
11:30 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Brookings Institution and the Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion: “Where Are US-China Relations Headed?” with House Intelligence ranking member Jim Himes (D-CN) https://www.brookings.edu/events/where-are-us-china-relations-headed
1:30 p.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion: “Commanding the Alliance: Perspectives from SACEURs,” with retired Gen. Christopher Cavoli; retired Gen. Philip Breedlove; retired Gen. Wesley Clark; retired Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti; and former U.S. Ambassador to Hungary Colleen Bell https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/commanding-the-alliance
3:30 p.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies virtual discussion: “Airpower and the Indo-Pacific,” with Gen. Kevin Schneider, commander of Pacific Air Forces and air component commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/event/an-gen-kevin-b-schneider-24/