Trump expresses confidence in Hegseth and says he can be confirmed to lead Pentagon

By Kristen Holmes, Shania Shelton and Aaron Pellish, CNN

(CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump on Friday said he has confidence in Pete Hegseth, even as he acknowledged “people were a little bit concerned” about his pick to lead the Pentagon amid a series of allegations related to drinking and sexual misconduct.

“Looks like Pete is doing well now. I mean, people were a little bit concerned,” Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker in an interview at Trump Tower. “He’s a young guy with a tremendous track record. Actually, went to Princeton and went to Harvard. He was a good student at both, but he loves the military, and I think people are starting to see it. So, we’ll be working on his nomination, along with a lot of others.”

Asked whether he thinks Hegseth can earn Senate confirmation, Trump said, “I think he will, yeah. I’ve had a lot of senators call me up saying he’s fantastic.” But Trump said he has not gotten any assurances from senators that he’ll be confirmed.

The comments from the president-elect marked the latest public praise for his embattled choice for secretary of defense after days of support behind the scenes.

Earlier in the day, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that the military veteran and former television anchor “is doing very well” and that “his support is strong and deep, much more so than the Fake News would have you believe.”

Asked by Welker whether he had concerns over reports of excessive drinking, Trump, who does not drink, said he’s “spoken to people that know [Hegseth] very well and they say he does not have a drinking problem.”

Hegseth has denied any wrongdoing and forcefully pushed back on what he has described as unfounded attacks against him. On Thursday, he concluded his first week of meetings on Capitol Hill as he seeks to shore up support with key senators who will vote on his confirmation.

Trump had told Hegseth he wants to see him fight for votes in the Senate, sources close to both men told CNN, and the continued backing is part of the reason Hegseth has appeared more bullish this week while he’s held critical meetings with Republican senators.

On Friday, he thanked the president-elect for his support, saying on X, “Like you, we will never back down.”

Vice President-elect JD Vance, a current Ohio senator who has been talking to his colleagues in support of Hegseth, also emphasized his backing for the defense secretary pick, saying that he’s “fighting” for Hegseth because he will “fight for our troops.”

“For too long, the Pentagon has been led by people who lose wars. Pete Hegseth is a man who fought in those wars. We’ve got his back,” Vance posted Friday.

The public support is the latest sign of Trump allies’ attempts to save Hegseth’s prospects as he faces a tough confirmation process, amid mounting allegations related to Hegseth’s workplace behavior and treatment of women, including a surfaced sexual assault allegation from 2017, which he has denied.

Amid calls for more vetting, Hegseth’s name was submitted to the FBI for a background check, and his attorney, Timothy Parlatore, said Thursday that his client had “received the forms yesterday from the FBI, and we’re working on them right now.”

Some of Trump’s allies have ramped up public pressure on senators who have so far declined to commit to supporting Hegseth. Some close to Hegseth believe that if he can survive over the next week, he will be Trump’s nominee, though he still will have to get through his confirmation hearing early next year.

At the same time, many of Trump’s advisers and close allies were annoyed over reports this week that the president-elect was mulling possible replacements, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, whose vote could be among the most crucial to Hegseth’s chances.

Ernst, who met with Hegseth earlier this week and plans to meet with him again next week, said on social media Friday that he should be allowed to continue the nomination process to a Senate hearing. “At a minimum, we agree that he deserves the opportunity to lay out his vision for our warfighters at a fair hearing,” she wrote on X.

This headline and story have been updated with additional developments.

CNN’s Aaron Pellish, Kaanita Iyer, Kristen Holmes, Jeremy Herb, Alayna Treene and Eric Bradner contributed to this report.

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