Pete Hegseth's nomination for secretary of defense appears to be gaining support, Punchbowl News reported.
As President-elect Donald Trump continues to support him, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, on Monday echoed her support for Hegseth through the nomination process. Senate Republicans believe Hegseth may have survived his initial rollout, Punchbowl reported.
Punchbowl cautioned there was no guarantee Hegseth will be confirmed, as he faces allegations regarding sexual assault, alcohol abuse, and financial mismanagement.
Hegseth is "doing exactly what he needs to do," said Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla. "Pete is up here every day, he's meeting with [senators], he's answering the tough questions, he's not running away from them. He's facing it. The idea isn't to put yeses on the board. It's to keep nos off the board."
In an interview Monday, Hegseth said Democrats had been trying to destroy his nomination with anonymous sources.
"The left is trying to turn this into a trial in the media, a show trial. We're not going to let that happen," Hegseth said. "I'm going to walk in the door of every one of these senators as an open book, willing to answer their questions because they deserve answers."
Hegseth will meet with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, two moderates who could vote against him.
"How else am I going to get a sense of him and ask him questions?" Collins told Punchbowl, responding to critics who blasted her for meeting with him.
Collins said to Punchbowl she would review an FBI background report on Hegseth and see how he responds in his public hearing.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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