Pete Hegseth Gaining Momentum in the GOP

When Donald Trump nominated Pete Hegseth as his Secretary of Defense, there were a lot of questions, including questions from this writer.

Hegseth had a playboy, party reputation, limited military experience, and had sexual abuse allegations levied against him.

Over the last month, however, it seems that Hegseth has calmed a lot of fears, and he is starting to gain serious momentum in the Senate.

Only Needs Republicans

It would be nice for Democrats to support the nominees, but the GOP now has the numbers in the Senate, so they don’t need Dems to come along for the ride.

And it is a good thing because I doubt Hegseth will get any support from the Democrat side of the aisle for his nomination.

As I have stated before, for me, it was more the party's reputation than anything else because the sexual misconduct allegations were investigated by the police and found to be invalid.

I am more concerned about a Secretary of Defense showing up for work hungover every day.

Hegseth had several things against him, with his reputation and rank in the service at the top of that list.

Hegseth retired as a Major, not the usual ranking we see for a Secretary of Defense with military experience.

Trump seems to think that Hegseth has what it takes to lead the entire military, but he did not have all of the Senators on the right convinced.

Among the resistance was Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), a survivor of sexual assault as well as being someone who seems to be constantly at odds with Donald Trump.

On Monday, Ernst changed her tune about Hegseth, stating that she would be “supporting him through the process,” which was taken to mean that she is now a “yes” for Hegseth.

Hegseth responded, “I appreciate the time…. amazing conversation, foreign affairs, combat vet, welcomed all of her insight.”

Trump had been quiet initially in support of Hegseth, but now there are reports that Trump has been burning up the phone lines to generate more support for Hegseth to get confirmed.

Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt added, "Pete Hegseth is an exceptionally qualified, highly educated, and tough patriot who has not only served this country with courage, but has also devoted his life to advocating for our troops and veterans.

"Mr. Hegseth's extensive military experience, combined with his steadfast commitment to restoring the Pentagon and our armed forces to greatness, will advance President Trump's vision of returning meritocracy, accountability, and efficiency to the United States military."

Senator Graham (R-S.C.) also expressed concerns about the reports on Hegseth, but stated that he thought Hegseth was in “pretty good shape” right now. However, if someone came forward with credible allegations against Hegseth, he stated he would listen.

Since we do not take part in the vetting, we have to leave it up to our Senators to do that job, and we can only hope they properly scrutinize Hegseth and don’t just push him through because that is who Trump wants.

There are real concerns here, and they need to be explained before Hegseth would have my backing as the Defense Secretary.