Trump doubles down on support for DOD nom Hegseth as he shores up Senate support

President Donald Trump has doubled down on his support of his Secretary of Defense pick Pete Hegseth. This comes as mainstream media outlets have been running reports in attempts to tarnish Hegseth's chances in the nomination process. Hegseth was on the Hill earlier this week, shoring up support in the Senate.

Trump posted 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, one who leads with charisma and skill. Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!" the president-elect added.

Hegseth met with Senators on the Hill earlier this week. Some GOP senators have been hesitant to outright support him, including Sens. Susan Collins, Joni Ernst and Lisa Murkowski. He has been accused of sexual misconduct previously, which ended in a settlement and the police report was released about it earlier this week, per CNN. No charges were ever filed in the case.

“This police report confirms what I’ve said all along, that the incident was fully investigated, and police found the allegations to be false, which is why no charges were filed,” Hegseth's attorney, Timothy Parlatore told the outlet. Hegseth is a former Fox News anchor as well as an Army veteran who has been awarded the Bronze Star. He went to college at Princeton as well as Harvard.

Reports earlier this week were indicating that Trump was potentially considering Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to fill Hegseth's place as the media has attempted to create controversy around the Secretary of Defense pick. After the reports circulating about DeSantis, Hegseth was asked by reporters about the claims on Wednesday. He told the press, "I spoke to the President-elect this morning. He said keep going, keep fighting. I’m behind you all the way. Why would I back down?"

Some of the latest media reports about Hegseth have cited anonymous sources to claim he had drinking issues while at Fox News, which former cohosts have flatly denied.