Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) said on Wednesday that he was “really impressed” with Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump’s nominee to lead the Pentagon, after the former Fox News host met with the House Republicans on Capitol Hill.
McCormick said in an interview on NewsNation’s “The Hill” that Hegseth presented his case well before the House Republican Study Committee, the largest caucus of Republican members, and defended himself against claims related to alleged sexual assault and excessive drinking.
The allegations that Hegseth faces, along with the relatively limited experience he has running large organizations, have raised questions among some lawmakers about his prospects of being confirmed.
“I hear all kinds of rumors, and I’ve heard other people’s names floated out there, but really, when it came down to it wasn’t substantiated at all,” McCormick said about Hegseth. “As a matter of fact, I was really impressed.”
“I came in there skeptical. I knew what he’d done in the Army, and I know what his mission was. And I thought, ‘Well, is this guy really qualified for that overview?’ He really impressed me, as somebody who was mature, looking at this, what he could and what he doesn’t know about, and who he’d hire in order to help him with the job. That’s really a huge job of almost a trillion dollar budget,” McCormick continued.
Hegseth has been the subject of accusations of sexual assault stemming from a 2017 encounter that he says was consensual, as well as claims of being drunk at work and mismanagement of funds while running two veterans organizations.
Hegseth, however, was defiant on Wednesday, vowing to fight on in a series of media appearances.
The Trump team, widely reported to have been blindsided by allegations of personal misconduct by Hegseth, is said to be considering other options to supplant Hegseth as pick to lead the Pentagon. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that President-elect Trump was considering asking his old rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). The Associated Press reported one such possibility was moving Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) from his current nomination to be national security adviser to take the helm at the Pentagon instead.
McCormick said in the interview Wednesday that Hegseth was clear that Trump was still backing him for the position.
NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.
