Accused of sexual assault, drunkenness, and financial mismanagement, new defense head is confirmed

Pete Hegseth was sworn in as defense secretary on Saturday morning after a confirmation process mired in allegations of sexual assault, public drunkenness, and the financial mismanagement of two veterans’ advocacy groups.

Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote in the Senate on Friday night after three Republicans—former GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska—voted against the nomination. It was the second time in history that the vice president has cast the tie-breaking vote for a Cabinet nominee.

Hegseth, a former Fox News host and military veteran, promised to overhaul the “woke” policies of the department and restore a “warrior culture.” The Department of Defense operates an $850 billion budget and employs more than 3 million military and civilian personnel.

In a blistering statement, McConnell said, “The restoration of ‘warrior culture’ will not come from trading one set of culture warriors for another.” He added, “By all accounts, brave young men and women join the military with the understanding that it is a meritocracy. This precious trust endures only as long as lawful civilian leadership upholds what must be a firewall between service members and politics.” His vote marks one of the first times since the January 6 insurrection that the former majority leader has been so outspoken in his opposition to Trump’s agenda.

The allegations against Hegseth, which he has repeatedly denied, are manifold.

A woman accused Hegseth of raping her at a 2017 conference in Monterey, California, according to a police report unearthed by the Washington Post. No charges were filed, but Hegseth later paid the woman $50,000, according to written answers to questions Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) posed to the nominee.

In an affidavit submitted to the Senate on Tuesday, Hegseth’s former sister-in-law said that Hegseth was “abusive” towards his ex-wife, who had an escape plan involving texting a safe word to friends and family and, on at least one occasion, hid in her closet out of fear. Other allegations in the affidavit, according to a press release from Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), are that Hegseth was so drunk that he “passed out, threw up, and had to be carried out of family events and public settings, sometimes shouting sexually and racially offensive statements.” He also said that “women should not vote or work, and that Christians needed to have more children so they could overtake the Muslim population,” according to the release.

In a 2018 email obtained by the New York Times, Hegseth’s mother, Penelope Hegseth, called him an “abuser of women,” accusing him of “dishonesty, sleeping around, betrayal, debasing, belittling” women. She later told the Times that she disavowed the accusations, which she made out of anger amid his divorce, and had subsequently written him an apology.

There were also allegations that he was forced to step down from two veterans groups—Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America—due to financial mismanagement, sexist behavior, and drunkenness. A lengthy New Yorker investigation found that, while at VFF, Hegseth sent a letter to donors admitting that the organization had less than $1,000 in the bank and more than $400,000 in unpaid bills. The investigation also found, based on a whistleblower report from his time at CVA, that Hegseth had to “be restrained while drunk from joining the dancers on the stage of a Louisiana strip club, where he had brought his team.” A separate letter claimed that, while on a tour in Ohio, Hegseth drunkenly chanted, “Kill All Muslims! Kill All Muslims!”

Republican senators celebrated his nomination. Ted Cruz, of Texas, called Hegseth “the change agent that the DOD desperately needs.” Mike Lee, of Utah, called him “the man for the job.” Marsha Blackburn, of Tennessee, said he is “the perfect fit to make our military great again and achieve peace through strength.”

Saturday morning also brought the Senate confirmation of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security, where she will spearhead Trump’s plan to crack down on illegal immigration. Noem has said that she will support Trump’s plans to end birthright citizenship; revive the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which forces asylum-seekers to stay in Mexico as their US cases are processed; and shut down the CBP One app, which allows migrants to make appointments at ports of entry.