Trump, Vance step up support for Hegseth as nomination faces uncertain prospects
Donald Trump and JD Vance have this morning made public expressions of support for Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary nominee whose prospects for confirmation have been rocked by allegations of excessive drinking and a sexual assault claim.
The messages may be an attempt to convince wary Senate Republicans to get over their concerns and vote for Hegseth’s confirmation. Here’s what Trump wrote, on Truth Social:
Pete Hegseth is doing very well. His support is strong and deep, much more so than the Fake News would have you believe. He was a great student – Princeton/Harvard educated – with a Military state of mind. He will be a fantastic, high energy, Secretary of Defense Defense, one who leads with charisma and skill. Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!
Vance took up the call, writing on X:
Led by President Trump, we’re fighting for Pete Hegseth. And we’re doing so because Pete Hegseth wil 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.
In response, Hegseth wrote:
Thank you Mr. President. Like you, we will never back down.
Key events
Donald Trump’s incoming cabinet appears set to be a collection of very, very wealthy people, the Guardian’s Robert Tait reports:
Enough billionaires and multimillionaires have been assembled by Donald Trump to fill key roles in his nascent administration to form a soccer team.
In a recruitment process that appears to mock his campaign’s appeal to working-class voters, the president-elect has brazenly tapped a gallery of mega-rich backers for key positions that, in some instances, will give them power to cut spending on public services that are used by the most poor and vulnerable.
At least 11 picks for strategic positions after Trump returns to the White House in January have either achieved billionaire status themselves, have billionaire spouses or are within touching distance of that threshold.
The net result will be the wealthiest administration in US history – worth a total of $340bn at the start of this week, before Trump further boosted its monetary value by trying to appoint at least three more billionaires.
Its collective wealth easily outstrips that of Trump’s first cabinet, formed after his 2016 election victory – which at the time was the richest US cabinet ever formed, containing such super-rich members as Rex Tillerson, the former chief executive of ExxonMobil, who was appointed secretary of state, and Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary, who had become wealthy through restructuring bankrupt companies.
It also throws into stark relief the relative impoverishment of the current cabinet of Joe Biden – collectively worth a relatively paltry $118m despite having been repeatedly derided by Trump as representative of a corrupt governing elite that was cheating ordinary working Americans.
Despite a steady drumbeat of media reports revealing instance of troubling behavior by Pete Hegseth, the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell reports that aides to Donald Trump believe he still has a path to confirmation:
Donald Trump’s aides working on Pete Hegseth’s nomination for defense secretary have told the Trump transition team they haven’t yet counted three Republican senators as being categorically opposed to his confirmation, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The president-elect’s pick to lead the Pentagon returned to Capitol Hill to meet with senators in an effort to shore up faltering support over allegations that he committed sexual assault, drank to excess, sexually pursued female subordinates and was ousted from two non-profits.
But Hegseth’s nomination team, which has met with senators themselves, have suggested to Trump’s orbit that he may ultimately prevail given that they have not hit the critical threshold of three “no” votes despite the slew of torrid headlines that have clouded the selection.
And while Trump himself has not expended any real political capital by calling holdouts on Hegseth’s behalf, the Trump aides working on his nomination have, both with senators and inside Trumpworld to ensure he has the president-elect’s backing.
Hegseth’s team, which includes aides who are close to the vice president-elect JD Vance and Trump’s eldest son Don Jr, represent a particularly powerful group that has the ability to reach Republican senators and the Trump inner circle.
The trickiest hurdle for Hegseth, the people said, appears for now at least to be convincing Republican senator Joni Ernst to back his nomination or ensuring her resistance does not embolden her close colleagues in the Senate to vote against him.
Trump, Vance step up support for Hegseth as nomination faces uncertain prospects
Donald Trump and JD Vance have this morning made public expressions of support for Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary nominee whose prospects for confirmation have been rocked by allegations of excessive drinking and a sexual assault claim.
The messages may be an attempt to convince wary Senate Republicans to get over their concerns and vote for Hegseth’s confirmation. Here’s what Trump wrote, on Truth Social:
Pete Hegseth is doing very well. His support is strong and deep, much more so than the Fake News would have you believe. He was a great student – Princeton/Harvard educated – with a Military state of mind. He will be a fantastic, high energy, Secretary of Defense Defense, one who leads with charisma and skill. Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!
Vance took up the call, writing on X:
Led by President Trump, we’re fighting for Pete Hegseth. And we’re doing so because Pete Hegseth wil 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.
In response, Hegseth wrote:
Thank you Mr. President. Like you, we will never back down.
Trump defends Hegseth as he announces more administration roles
Good morning, US politics blog readers. Donald Trump announced a slew of new nominations for top administration officials last night, including ambassador to China, head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a new role of “White House AI and crypto czar”. He also made clear he was sticking by his embattled nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth. Writing on Truth Social this morning, Trump said Hegseth “is doing very well”, even though it remains unclear if key senators will support his nomination to lead the Pentagon. The former Fox News host has spent the past few days on Capitol Hill, trying to win over Republican lawmakers in spite of reports of his excessive drinking, financial mismanagement of two charities, and a sexual assault allegation.
Back to the nominations Trump announced last night, former Georgia senator David Perdue will serve as ambassador to China, while tech entrepreneur and Elon Musk associate David Sacks has been appointed to the new crypto czar role – the latest sign that the Trump administration will be much friendlier to the digital asset industry than Joe Biden’s ever was.
Here’s what else is happening today:
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The US job market remains robust, according to just-released government data that showed the economy added 227,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%.
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Joe Biden will deliver remarks from the White House at the 6pm ET performance of “The Eyes of the World: From D-Day to VE Day”, which honors World War II veterans.
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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre parries with reporters at 2pm.
