Pete Hegseth speaking with attendees at the 2022 Student Action Summit at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)
Ten current and former Fox News employees told NBC News that Pete Hegseth had a drinking problem they found concerning, and two said they smelled alcohol on him before going on air.
President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Hegseth as secretary of defense, but a number of stories surfaced in recent weeks that left Republican senators questioning the nomination.
Two Fox News colleagues "said that on more than a dozen occasions during Hegseth’s time as a co-host of 'Fox & Friends Weekend,' which began in 2017, they smelled alcohol on him before he went on air," said the report.
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"Three current employees said that his drinking remained a concern up until Trump announced him as his choice to run the Pentagon, at which point Hegseth left Fox," the report continued.
Colleagues said they felt they had to "babysit" Hegseth because he would be out drinking the nights before his weekend show.
“We’d have to call him to make sure he didn’t oversleep because we knew he’d be out partying the night before,” said one Fox source.
A second source told NBC News, “Morning TV is stressful, and more times than not Pete made it even more stressful.”
Trump's transition team spokesperson called the allegations "completely unfounded and false."
According to the NBC News report, accusations of drunkenness went on as recently as a few months ago.
Journalist Ryan Nobles told MSNBC on Tuesday afternoon that six Republican senators opposed Hegseth's nomination as of Tuesday, though they appeared willing to change their minds.
See the MSNBC video below or at the link here.
- YouTube youtu.be
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