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Matt Gaetz was the first of Donald Trump's nominees to withdraw, but might not be the last. Gaetz' withdrawal has now put Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth in the spotlight. He has more baggage than can fit in an Airbus A380-800. And Republican senators are beginning to detect it.
Let's start with the e-mail Hegseth's own mother sent him in 2018 accusing him of repeatedly mistreating many women. She encouraged him to get help. In the e-mail, Penelope Hegseth wrote: "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." Not a great recommendation. Is it true? We can't imagine a mother making this up. Also, a woman accused Hegseth of sexual assault. After the incident, she went to a hospital and showed the doctors bruises consistent with that story. Hegseth later paid her hush money to keep quiet. We don't know what happened, but that incident is consistent with what his mother wrote. When asked about the e-mail, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said: "Well, that's why God made confirmation hearings."
On Sunday, The New Yorker ran a disastrous profile of Hegseth based on a trail of documents and interviews with former colleagues. He has a history of alcohol abuse, sexual misconduct, and poor management at veterans organizations he ran and was subsequently fired from. Sounds like just the guy to manage 3 million people, some of them women, and a budget of $800 billion.
Hours after the New Yorker article hit the web, Hegseth met with senators. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), no liberal, said: "You're gonna have to have all your ducks in a row." Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said: "Let him take the oath, let him answer questions." One good question might be: "What is the biggest organization you have managed so far and what was its annual budget?" A good follow-up might be: "How long did you work there and how did your employment end?"
On the other hand, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) said of the allegations: "But it's very clear that this guy is the guy who, at a time when Americans are losing confidence in their own military and our ability to project strength around the world, that Pete Hegseth is the answer to that concern." We read and reread that quote five times to see where we missed the "not" in there, but there isn't one. Is Lummis that stupid or merely lying through her teeth? Of the 604 active duty generals and admirals, many former ones, and hundreds of high-level defense department employees, she really thinks Fox News anchor Hegseth is the man for the job, even if you ignore all the scandals? (V)