Hegseth Is Damaged Goods

The MAGA right is rallying to his side, but even if confirmed he faces an uncertain future.

Embattled Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth. Photo by Andrew Harnik, Getty Images

Many in the GOP probably wish that Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for Defense Secretary, would just throw in the towel. Hegseth faces damning allegations of public drunkeness, financial mismanagement and sexual predation. His own mother, who sent him a scathing email labeling him an abuser of women six years ago, has had to go on the talk show circuit to insist that Pete really is a good little boy.

As some remarked, it’s the height of irony for Hegseth to be against women in combat but to send his mom out to fight for him.

Things were looking particularly bleak when Trump was rumored to be talking to Florida governor Ron DeSantis, whom Trump still probably hates, about stepping in as Hegseth’s replacement nominee.

Perhaps those talks didn’t go so well. For whatever reason, Hegseth has remained in the running, and Trump is now spending political capital to back his initial choice.

One notable shift is this: Hegseth now has armies of MAGA trolls behind him, egged on by the likes of Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk. And that’s put immense pressure on GOP holdouts like Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, who was initially cool to Hegseth’s nomination.

In today’s piece, I’ll take a closer look at the battle to win over Sen. Joni Ernst and why her support is seen as pivotal. Then we’ll zoom out and look at how Hegseth is campaigning for support generally and what critics are now saying about his plans for the military. Lastly, I’ll review what a nomination battle might look like and why opponents can and should still make this nomination costly for Trump and the GOP, even if it ultimately squeaks by.

Sen. Joni Ernst hates men like Hegseth

If ever there were a hurdle for Hegseth for confirmation within the GOP, it would come from Sen. Joni Ernst.

For starters, Hegseth opposes women in combat, and Ernst is a combat veteran. In fact, she is the first female combat veteran to serve in the U.S. Senate. And Hegseth has been very clear, and frankly offensive, when espousing his views on the matter. As MSNBC reported,

During a podcast interview two weeks before he was tapped to lead the Pentagon, Hegseth opined: “I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn’t made us more effective. Hasn’t made us more lethal. Has made fighting more complicated.” Hegseth has also said, numerous times, that standards are being lowered for women to qualify to serve in combat roles, a claim for which there is no evidence and which has been repeatedly debunked by defense officials.

Then there’s that police report from Monterey, California containing a credible rape allegation against Hegseth. Ernst is a sexual assault survivor and has made combatting sexual assault part of her political identity. On her website, she writes,

As a survivor of sexual assault and domestic violence, combatting these horrific crimes and ensuring survivors have the resources and support they need is one of my top priorities.

Ernst is also a co-sponsor of reauthorizing and modernizing the Violence Against Women Act and has been “focused on preventing sexual assault in our military.” Per the New York Times,

In 2021, Ms. Ernst’s work on and advocacy for legislation to move military sexual assault cases outside the chain of command prompted several other Senate Republicans to sign onto the bill. In 2019, she broke with her party and was the only Republican to oppose confirming Gen. John E. Hyten, who had been accused of sexual assault by a subordinate, as vice chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Given her background and priorities, Hegseth is something of a nightmare nominee for Ernst. As the Times observed,

Over two terms in the Senate, she has built a reputation for being a principled leader on matters of sexual assault and the military. As a combat veteran, she also holds strong views on the role of women in the military that clash significantly with those of Mr. Hegseth, who has said women should not serve in combat roles.

It’s small wonder her first meeting with Hegseth failed to impress her. The Times noted that she emerged from that meeting saying Hegseth would “have his work cut out for him” to be confirmed, and she told Fox News just last week that she was not yet a “yes” on his bid.

Together with fellow female GOP holdouts Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), a “no” vote from Ernst would deeply imperil Hegseth; he would need every other GOP senator to vote in his favor.

The pressure campaign upon Ernst

Sensing Ernst’s opposition to Hegseth could send the nomination into the Matt Gaetz pile, Hegseth’s backers including Bannon, Kirk and Don Trump, Jr. got busy.

They ran targeted ads in Iowa in favor of Hegseth urging supporters to call their senator and demand his confirmation.

On social media, Don Trump Jr. tweeted, without naming names, that if “you’re a GOP Senator who voted for Lloyd Austin”—who was appointed by President Joe Biden—but are now criticizing Pete Hegseth, then “maybe you’re in the wrong political party!”

The pressure campaign also included threats to raise a primary challenge to Ernst. Bannon and Kirk pushed to recruit none other than Kari Lake, a native Iowan, in 2026 when Ernst is up for re-election. Taking their cues from these bullies, the far-right inundated Ernst with threats and name-calling.

And in an ominous move, Kash Patel, who is Trump’s pick to head the FBI, paid a visit to Ernst to bring her back into the fold. This smacks of J. Edgar Hoover era tactics, where the likely new FBI Director’s very presence is an implicit threat. Got any secrets you don’t want exposed, Sen. Ernst?

The pressure seems to be working. Sen. Ernst is now signaling she’s open to voting yes on Hegseth’s confirmation if the alleged rape victim does not come forward publicly to testify. And while she hasn’t publicly committed to support Hegseth, she sure sounds on board now. As the Washington Post reported,

Ernst released an official statement that their “encouraging conversations” included Hegseth pledging to support women within the military ranks and to reinforce her legislation on military assault.

“Pete committed to completing a full audit of the Pentagon and selecting a senior official who will uphold the roles and value of our servicemen and women — based on quality and standards, not quotas — and who will prioritize and strengthen my work to prevent sexual assault within the ranks,” Ernst said in the statement.

Per the Post, Hegseth has also changed his tune dramatically about women in combat following their meeting, saying on Sean Hannity’s show on Fox that he wanted to “clarify” his earlier statements that “suggested” he did not support women even serving in the military.

“Some of our greatest warriors, our best warriors out there, are women who serve, raise the right hand and defend this country, and love our nation,” Hegseth said.

As for Ernst, she seems to have backed far away from the idea of believing women who come forward to authorities with accusations of sexual assault. “As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources,” she stated.

The Hegseth image clean up tour

Apart from trotting out his mother to vouch for him—a strategy he apparently shares with that other alpha male, Elon Musk, whose mother has been publicly heaping praise upon her son—Hegseth has been hitting the interview circuit to try and rehabilitate his image. And he’s got some GOP mouthpieces out seeking to do the same.

Given that they are trying to explain away undisputed acts of public drunkenness and womanizing, a lot of this has been quite cringeworthy.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), whose parents really did name him “Markwayne,” went on CNN and spoke with Jake Tapper about Hegseth’s drinking problem. It didn’t go well.

TAPPER: Drinking at 10 in the morning, that’s a drinking problem.

MULLIN: Yeah and there’s probably a lot of media that has a drinking problem too…

TAPPER: A drunk reporter who is drinking at 10 AM for whatever reason is not in charge of the 3 million person Defense Department.

In an attempt to allay widespread concerns about his drinking habit, Hegseth has claimed he has stopped drinking alcohol and, according to Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO), will not drink alcohol if confirmed.

This honestly sounds like something an alcoholic would say.

About that police report and the victim’s allegations that Hegseth raped her after a GOP women’s conference in Monterey, California, Hegseth claims that the story has the “anatomy of a smear,” implying that the whole thing didn’t happen even though he paid the victim for her silence and bound her with an NDA.

Heads will roll

Besides those highly problematic issues, Hegseth has plans to shake up the military, including its top ranks. Yesterday, the Military Times reported that an outside group called the American Accountability Foundation has sent Hegseth a list of 20 “woke” senior officers whom they urge Hegseth to dismiss if he is confirmed. These officers, the group contends, promoted “diversity” in the ranks. The list contains a disproportionate number of female officers. As Military Times noted,

Tom Jones, a former aide to Republican senators who leads the foundation, said Friday that those on the list are “pretty egregious” advocates for diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, policies, which he called problematic.

“The nominee has been pretty clear that that has no place in the military,” Jones said of Hegseth.

Such “enemies” lists, along with widespread fear of politically motivated reprisals, are already having a chilling effect within the military. The weaponization of the issue has meant that anyone even seeking to raise the subject of representation and diversity within the ranks is potentially putting their own head on the chopping block. This kind of litmus test prevents any kind of open and robust discussion, just as it has within many state colleges, such as in places like Florida, where DEI has come under politicized attack.

Benefits will drop

Hegseth’s views on veterans’ benefits are also under higher scrutiny as his nomination inches closer to being confirmed. Hegseth has been openly disdainful of the kinds of benefits veterans can legally apply for. He claims that veterans’ advocacy groups “encourage veterans to apply for every government benefit they can ever get after they leave the service.” And, per reporting by CNN, in a 2019 episode of Fox & Friends, where Hegseth has been a host, Hegseth suggested veterans had become overly “dependent” on the federal government.

“To me, the ethos of service is, I served my country because I love my country and I’m gonna come home and start the next chapter of my life,” Hegseth said. “If I’ve got a chronic condition — mental, physical, otherwise — the government better be there for me, but otherwise I don’t want to be dependent on that.”

If both Hegseth and Trump’s pick to head the Veterans Administration, Doug Collins, is confirmed, we will likely see a strong push to privatize much of the health care that veterans now receive. But let’s be clear: Privatization means healthcare for a profit, and the only way for private providers to make money off our veterans is to deny many of their claims. This would leave many at the mercy of claims adjusters and a system now bent on actually limiting the amount of care they receive instead of providing for their needs.

The battle to come

With Ernst backing down, it’s possible that Hegseth may now have enough support from the GOP Senate to be confirmed. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be a bruising battle, and that carries significant political consequences.

Current public attention on and anger over the profits of the healthcare industry, made upon the suffering and death of patients, could surface in connection with Hegseth’s nomination and push for privatization of VA benefits. Hegseth should be grilled publicly about his plans and his past statements about this issue, which is top of mind for many voters. Veterans groups can organize to oppose Hegseth over his policies, which could devastate care for their members.

Together with Hegseth’s highly disturbing past and present questions over his sobriety, the confirmation hearings are a prime opportunity for Democrats to remind the public of the kind of people Trump wants around him, where financial mismanagement, substance abuse and sexual assault are resume builders rather than disqualifiers.

Even if Hegseth survives his confirmation battle, his authority to lead the Defense Department and his overall reputation will suffer mightily. Already, Hegseth has exactly zero experience leading complex organizations, let alone something the size of the Defense Department. That lack of experience, coupled with low credibility coming in, will make it much harder for Hegseth to act as a political wrecking ball.

And if he does begin to fire respected career officers for their personal views on things like diversity, equity and inclusion, he may lose even more support from within his own Department. He may soon find his allies within the Pentagon are few and far between, and that his every move will be scrutinized, questioned and resisted by one of the world’s largest bureaucracies.

As Lloyd Bridges would say, it looks like Hegseth picked the wrong week to give up drinking.