Hegseth traveled to Capitol Hill on Thursday with Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), Trump's vice president-elect, to shore up support with lawmakers.
While on Capitol Hill, Hegseth declared himself “completely cleared” of the 2017 sexual assault case involving Doe.
He also said it was an “an incredible opportunity” to be Defense secretary and that he takes it "very seriously."
Republican senators also appeared eager to put the matter behind them.
Hegseth met with Sens. John Barrasso (Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), Markwayne Mullin (Okla.), Bill Hagerty (Tenn.), Eric Schmitt (Mo.) and incoming chair of the Armed Services Committee Roger Wicker (Miss.), none of whom expressed major concerns.
“Pete pledged that the Pentagon will focus on strength and hard power — not the current administration’s woke political agenda,” Barrasso said in a statement Thursday.
"Let them answer this stuff, you know, give them their day," added Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).
The meeting came on the same the city of Monterey, Calif., released a detailed police report after a public records request, a copy of which was obtained by The Hill.
In the report, Doe says she was at a bar in the Hyatt Hotel in Monterey on the night of Oct. 7, 2017, when she was introduced to Hegseth, a keynote speaker at a Republican conference event.
Doe said she had an argument with Hegseth and claimed they went to his hotel room where he allegedly blocked her exit and assaulted her. The woman later went to a hospital for a sexual assault exam.
The police report said Hegseth claimed that the woman hit on him at the event and led him to the hotel room. Hegseth says he was "buzzed" that night and the sexual encounter was consensual, but the woman expressed regret after the incident for cheating on her husband.
Through his attorney, Hegseth has also denied the allegations and accused the woman of trying to blackmail him.
His attorney paid the woman in 2023 to settle the threat of a lawsuit but the lawyer argued it was a reaction to concern about public backlash during the #metoo movement and not a confession of guilt.
Read more at TheHill.com.
