Graham: Hegseth’s path to confirmation is assured
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who last month called allegations of sexual assault and other misconduct against Pete Hegseth “very disturbing,” on Tuesday said that President-elect Trump’s nominee to head the Pentagon now appears “assured” of winning Senate confirmation.
Graham predicted Hegseth would be a slam dunk to get through the Senate Armed Services Committee and secure enough votes for confirmation on the Senate floor after he survived several hours of tough questions.
“Democratic attacks were overly personal and fell flat. It was clear Pete was more prepared for the hearing than my Democratic colleagues,” Graham said.
“With today’s performance, I believe Pete Hegseth’s path to confirmation has been assured,” he declared.
The South Carolina senator argued that Hegseth did “a very good job answering difficult questions” at the hearing while also laying out a vision to reform the Pentagon.
One of the tensest moments came when Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) grilled Hegseth about his multiple marriages and infidelities and asked whether he had ever committed an act of violence against one of his spouses.
But the fireworks did little to change Republican senators’ minds.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a key Republican vote on the committee, didn’t ask Hegseth about the allegations against him and instead focused on pushing her own priorities of granting women access to combat roles and cracking down on sexual assault in the military.
Not a single Republican on the panel gave any sign of not supporting Hegseth when his nomination comes up for a vote in committee next week.
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