"Senate Majority Leader John Thune has privately told President-elect Donald Trump that he believes Pete Hegseth will have the votes to be confirmed as Secretary of Defense, according to three sources," CBS News senior White House reporter Jennifer Jacobs revealed Sunday. "When asked for comment, a spokesman for Thune would only tell CBS News, 'Two things we don't discuss publicly: Whip counts and private conversations with the president.'"
Hegseth's nomination, announced nearly two months ago, was initially met with consternation and bewilderment by some on the right and strong objections by many on the left.
"Shortly after the news broke" that Trump had nominated Hegseth, "two Republican senators messaged Rolling Stone their dismay over Trump’s announcement, with each doubting Hegseth’s confirmability and basic qualifications for the high-stakes job," Rolling Stone reported in November. “'That makes no sense!' one of them said. Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski couldn’t help but say, 'Wow,' when quizzed about Trump’s latest selection to fill the highest ranks of his new administration, with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) replying, 'Who?'"
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"It wasn’t just Republican senators who were stunned by the news. 'WHAT. THE. REAL. FUCK,' a former Fox News colleague of Hegseth’s exclaimed to Rolling Stone," the magazine also reported.
Calling it "alarming," Rolling Stone also reported that "Hegseth is uncomfortably close to extremist movements. By his own accounting, Hegseth was 'deemed an extremist' and removed from a National Guard regiment tasked with protecting Joe Biden’s inauguration because of troubling tattoos. Hegseth claims the problematic ink in question is the giant Jerusalem cross tattooed on his pec, which he’s said is 'just a Christian symbol.' But extremism analysts have also pointed to a bicep tat reading 'Deus Vult' — or 'God wills it' — a battle cry of the medieval crusaders that has recently been appropriated by white nationalists. (The crusaders also used the Jerusalem cross, specifically, in their heraldry.)"
In November, just after his nomination as SecDef was announced, The Associated Press reported: "Since Jan. 6, Hegseth, like many Trump supporters, has minimized both the riot’s seriousness and the role of people with military training. Amid the widespread condemnation the day after the assault, Hegseth took a different approach. On a panel on Fox News, Hegseth portrayed the crowd as patriots, saying they 'love freedom' and were 'people who love our country' who had 'been re-awoken to the reality of what the left has done' to their country."
Hegseth—who has no experience in managing a literal army of employees or a massive budget, and has no experience in government—is expected to face strong questioning about his alleged sexual assault of a staffer for the California Federation of Republican Women during his confirmation hearing, now expected to be scheduled for January 14.
He will likely face questions about his alleged financial mismanagement of veterans' organizations, reports of alleged alcohol abuse and “aggressive drunkenness,” and about the various tattoos he has proudly displayed, along with others he has, that appear to reflect ties to Christian nationalism and support for the use of military efforts during the Crusades to achieve religious objectives.
Hegseth's stated opposition to women in combat, to diversity efforts within the U.S. military, to LGBTQ service members, and to the Geneva Conventions, are all expected to become part of his confirmation hearing.
RELATED: ‘Marxist’ Agenda: Hegseth Says Gay Troops ‘Erode Standards’ in ‘Social Engineering’ Push
Additionally, Hegseth may have to fend off questions about a damning 2018 email his mother wrote to him that read in part, “On behalf of all the women (and I know it’s many) you have abused in some way, I say … get some help and take an honest look at yourself.”
“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,” she also said, according to The New York Times. Last month, however, Penelope Hegseth urged "female Senators" to overlook what she referred to as "media reports" and confirm her son.
The 44-year old, a devout Christian, has been married three times and has seven children. He served in the Army National Guard from 2003-2014, and again from 2019-2021.
While studying at Princeton, Hegseth wrote and/or published controversial opinion pieces in the student newspaper, The Princeton Tory.
“By advocating government support of the traditional family unit, a return of the acceptability of the ‘homemaker’ vocation, freedom from oppressive government oversight, moral responsibility, and the revival of religious faith, conservatives provide a working blueprint for a free and prosperous future,” Hegseth wrote, according to a report in the Princeton Alumni Weekly.
Last month, CNN reported that Hegseth "justified the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack and spread baseless conspiracy theories claiming the initial break-in was a false flag operation carried out by leftist groups disguised as Trump supporters."
"In comments made immediately after the riot and in the days and weeks leading up to it, Hegseth also amplified false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, a narrative that fueled the violence at the Capitol that day," CNN also noted.
Six months after Joe Biden was sworn in as President, live and on-air, Hegseth would not say Donald Trump had lost the 2020 election.
On the morning of January 6, 2021, Hegseth stood in front of the D.C. stage where numerous Trump allies and later Trump himself would stand and falsely tell the nation the election had been stolen, and excitedly report, "the chants that are coming time and time again, are, 'stop the steal, stop the steal,' and we saw it coming out of Georgia, uh, that 70% of Republicans who believe that the election in November was not legitimate, that it was stolen, that may have had an effect on Georgia, but no doubt it has an effect on the hearts of of this city right now, of Americans."
"I have friends who've texted me who are not very political saying, 'I'm coming to Washington, D.C. today, 'cause I can't handle what's happening in my country.' I think it's not an understatement to say, we're in a constitutional tinder box right now with people on both sides believing there's legitimacy and illegitimacy, based on things they feel in their heart and love of their country," Hegseth excitedly continued. "Donald Trump will articulate a lot of that today from the stage. He'll have thousands of supporters here and dozens of senators and congressmen on the House of Representatives objecting with that long debate that will go on and on, will the um will the the rally go on longer, longer?"
Watch the video of Hegseth from January 6, 2021 below or at this link.
RELATED: Hegseth Successfully Gaslights on Women in ‘Combat’
