President-elect Donald Trump expressed confidence in his pick to run the Pentagon, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, amid allegations of excessive drinking and abuse of women.
"It looks like Pete is doing well now," Trump said in an exclusive interview with "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker that will air Sunday. "I mean, people were a little bit concerned. He’s a young guy, with a tremendous track record actually. He 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."
Read more on this story at NBCNews.com and watch Kristen Welker’s full interview on “Meet the Press” on Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. ET or check local listings.
NBC News reported on Tuesday that Hegseth's candidacy was in peril, with as many as six Senate Republicans not currently comfortable supporting his bid, three GOP sources with direct knowledge of the confirmation process said, amid reports highlighting concerns from colleagues over his drinking and allegations of sexual misconduct.
NBC News reported Tuesday that Hegseth's drinking worried his Fox News colleagues, 10 current and former employees of the network said. Two of those sources said Hegseth smelled of alcohol before he went on air more than a dozen times. A Trump transition spokesperson called the claims "completely unfounded and false."
Separately, Hegseth, an Army National Guard veteran, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in California in 2017, as detailed in a police report that was made public after Trump picked him for defense secretary. He was not charged, and Hegseth said the encounter was consensual. He paid the woman an undisclosed amount as part of a settlement.
This week, Hegseth took meetings on Capitol Hill in an effort to reassure senators — and the president-elect.
"Yes I do, I really do," Trump said when Welker asked if he maintained confidence in the pick. "He’s a very smart guy. I’ve known him through Fox, but I’ve known him for a long time. And he’s basically a military guy. Every time I talk to him, all he wants to talk about is the military. He’s a military guy."
Pressed on whether senators assured Trump that Hegseth can be confirmed, Trump said that "a lot of senators call me up saying he’s fantastic."
Welker noted that Trump himself does not drink and has warned of the dangers of excessive drinking. She asked if he has concerns that his pick to oversee the U.S. military has struggled with drinking, according to those who've worked with him.
"But I’ve spoken to people that know him very well and they say he does not have a drinking problem," Trump responded.
