Pete Hegseth’s mother defends him ahead of pivotal day as his defense secretary nomination reportedly teeters – live

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Pete Hegseth's mother defends son, saying 'he doesn't misuse women'

In an interview with Fox News, Pete Hegseth’s mother said she stood by her son, as he faces allegations of mistreatment of women and excessive drinking that could derail his nomination for the role of defense secretary.

“He doesn’t misuse women,” Penelope Hegseth told the network, where her son worked as a host until recently. “He’s been through some difficult things. I’m not going to list them by name, but I would just say that some of those attachments or descriptions are just not true, especially any more.”

Last week, the New York Times reported that Penelope Hegseth had sent her son an email in 2018 criticizing his treatment of women, saying: “I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth.”

Speaking to Fox, Penelope Hegseth said she sent that email in the midst of her son’s divorce and retracted it hours later:

Pete and his wife at the time were going through a very difficult divorce. It was a very emotional time, and I’m sure many of you across the country understand how difficult divorce is on a family. There’s emotions. We say things, and I wrote that in haste. I wrote that with deep emotions. I wrote that as a parent, and about two hours later … my husband tells me I should think through things a little bit more, but Pete and I are both very passionate people. I wrote that out of love, and about two hours later I retracted it with an apology email. But nobody’s seen that.

Asked about reports that her son is known for drinking excessively, cheated on his partners, mismanaged the finances of two charities and faced an allegation of sexual assault, Hegseth replied:

I don’t believe any of that is true.

Hegseth faces pivotal day of interviews as defense secretary nomination reportedly teeters

Good morning, US politics blog readers. Things are not looking great for the prospect of the Senate confirming Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, to the job. The former Fox News host was one of the first picks Trump made after winning re-election, but in the weeks since, news broke that Hegseth was accused of sexual assault, which he denies, is known to drink excessively and allegedly financially mismanaged two charities. Over the past few hours, reports have emerged that it’s all becoming too much for the Republican senators tasked with confirming him, and that Trump is considering pulling the nomination and instead asking Florida’s governor and one-time rival Ron DeSantis to lead the Pentagon.

But it’s not over yet for Hegseth. His mother, who wrote an email criticizing him for his treatment of women, gave an interview to Fox News this morning billed as setting the record straight, while Hegseth will today be on Capitol Hill for further meetings with lawmakers who will decide his fate. We’ll see if his nomination survives the day.

Here’s what else is going on:

• The supreme court will at 10am ET begin hearing arguments in a case concerning Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming treatment for minors, which could have implications nationwide.

• The precise balance of power in the House of Representatives has been determined. With ballot counting finally finished in a tight race in central California, Republicans will control the chamber with 220 seats to the Democrats’ 215 – but the GOP’s majority will immediately shrink as several lawmakers head for jobs in Trump’s cabinet.

• Joe Biden continues his trip to Angola, and will be heading back to the US later today.