Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s embattled choice for secretary of defense, says he’s not backing down from the position as allegations of misconduct mount.
“I’m doing this for the warfighters, not the warmongers,” he wrote Wednesday on X with a picture of himself and others in military attire.
“The Left is afraid of disrupters and change agents. They are afraid of @realDonaldTrump—and me. So they smear w/ fake, anonymous sources & BS stories. They don’t want truth,” he wrote. “Our warriors never back down, & neither will I.”
Mr. Hegseth is meeting with Republican senators this week on Capitol Hill, with more meetings scheduled for Wednesday.
Some Republican senators have expressed support for him, but others have raised concerns amid multiple accusations of sexual assault, infidelity and alcohol abuse coming out against him.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, told CBS News that some of the allegations are “very disturbing.”
“He obviously has a chance to defend himself here, but some of this stuff is going to be difficult. You know, time will tell,” Mr. Graham said.
The New York Times published a story Friday revealing emails from Mr. Hegseth’s mother in which she accused her son of mistreating women for years.
“You are an abuser of women — that is the ugly truth and I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth,” the email said.
His mother shared Wednesday that she has no idea how the newspaper obtained her emails but that her son is now a changed man.
“Pete is a new person. He’s redeemed, forgiven, changed. I think we all are after seven years,” Ms. Hegseth said on Fox News. “I believe he’s the man for the job.”
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.