Hegseth was already facing an uphill confirmation battle to become the Secretary of Defense given that he is best known as a Fox News host with no government experience.
The emergence of a disturbing sexual assault accusation against him from 2017 isn’t helping matters — and Trump’s team is pissed.
There was, the sources say, a vetting process for the Hegseth pick, but it did not uncover these details, nor was it especially invasive.
Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign’s communications director, says in a statement: “Pete Hegseth dedicated his entire life as a warrior for the troops and for our country.”
He adds, “With Pete as our Secretary of Defense, America’s enemies are on notice and our military will be great again.
Vance also accompanied Gaetz as he met with senators on Tuesday, a day before the congressman-turned-Cameo star withdrew his name from contention to become attorney general.
This story has been updated to include a comment from the Trump campaign. »