Donald Trump’s transition team has begun quietly assembling a list of alternatives to Pete Hegseth, Vanity Fair reported Wednesday.
The Fox & Friends host has been the subject of immense scrutiny since he was nominated last week to head the Department of Defense, after allegations surfaced that Hegseth had sexually assaulted a woman at a Republican event in Monterey, California, in 2017.
Hegseth’s lawyer said the claims had already been investigated and nothing had come of it, but soon after, it was reported that Hegseth had agreed to a settlement with the accuser in return for her signing a nondisclosure agreement.
Two Republicans close to Trump told Vanity Fair that they were preparing a contingency plan in case Hegseth’s nomination fell apart.
“It’s becoming a real possibility,” one of the sources told the magazine.
“People are upset about the distraction,” the second source said. “The general feeling is Pete hasn’t been honest.”
A MAGA insider insisted that although Hegseth had been vetted, the allegation hadn’t come up. Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, was briefed on the allegations the day after Hegseth’s nomination was announced. The claims were so serious that Wiles and a lawyer for Trump’s team approached Hegseth about them the following day.
Hegseth’s nomination has also garnered backlash over his misogynist and anti-Muslim statements, as well as his reported ties to extremist Christian nationalist figures and tattoos featuring slogans used by white nationalist groups.