President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team was in the middle of announcing new Cabinet picks this week when they were informed of a sexual assault allegation about one of his previous selections, Pete Hegseth, stunning several members of Trump’s team who have since raised questions about the viability of his nomination, according to two people close to the situation.
Trump had announced he was tapping Hegseth as his next secretary of defense after only days of considering the veteran-turned-Fox News host and very little internal vetting. Within 48 hours, the heads of Trump’s transition team were brought a complaint about a sexual assault allegation regarding Hegseth.
The campaign was brought information that aligns with what Monterey, California, police described as an investigation into “an alleged sexual assault” involving Hegseth on October 8, 2017.
Hegseth wasn’t ever vetted by an outside firm before he was announced.
One source insisted that despite the surprise, the president-elect and the transition team were moving forward with the nomination at this time.
But in the days since, the allegation has only roiled Hegseth’s already shaky selection to run the largest agency in the federal government that includes millions of service members and civilians and a budget over $800 billion. There was open speculation on Friday in Trump’s orbit about whether Hegseth would ultimately pull his own nomination, with several people concerned that there could be more damaging information to come.
The president-elect’s pick this week of Hegseth, a nominee without senior military or public office experience, to serve as his secretary of defense had surprised both Pentagon officials and the former president’s own allies.
Lol, now it makes sense why trump picked him.
Birds of a feather....