After the recent revelation that Pete Hegseth had secretly paid a financial settlement to a woman who had accused him of raping her in , President-elect Donald Trump stood by his choice of Hegseth to become the next Secretary of Defense. A trail of documents, corroborated by the accounts of former colleagues, indicates that Hegseth was forced to step down by both of the two nonprofit advocacy groups that he ran—Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America—in the face of serious allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety, and personal misconduct.
The detailed seven-page report—which was compiled by multiple former C. Kill All Muslims! Get back to us when you try your first attempt at actual journalism. The Secretary of Defense is involved in every issue of national security. He approves drone strikes that may involve civilian casualties. Literally life-and-death issues are in the hands of the Secretary of Defense, and entrusting these kinds of issues to someone who might be incapacitated for any reason is a risk we cannot take.
Blumenthal noted that an earlier nominee for Secretary of Defense, Senator John Tower, a Republican from Texas, was voted down by his Senate colleagues in because of concerns about his drinking and womanizing.
It was the first time that the Cabinet pick of a newly elected President, in this case George H. Bush, was rejected by the Senate.
But, according to three knowledgeable sources, one of whom contributed to the whistle-blower report, Hegseth was forced to step down from the organization in part because of concerns about his mismanagement and abuse of alcohol on the job. Most veterans do not think he represents them nor their high standard of excellence. Pak, who had served as C. A spokesman at Americans for Prosperity, the umbrella political group run by the far-right billionaire Koch family —under whose auspices Concerned Veterans for America was launched, in —confirmed that Hegseth had resigned but declined to comment further on personnel matters.
