The media furor against the nomination of Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense seemingly died down for the holidays. But the malicious spotlighting of Hegseth has picked up ahead of his Senate confirmation hearing.
Watch as CBS’s Nancy Cordes picks up where the media left off:
TOMMY TUBERVILLE: I'm 110% behind Pete Hegseth.
NANCY CORDES: In the Senate version of a pep rally, Alabama Republican Tommy Tuberville sought to boost Pete Hegseth's chances today, praising him alongside some former Navy Seals.
MITCH AGUIAR: Pete is definitely that breath of fresh air when it comes to the Department of Defense.
CORDES: Tomorrow, the former Fox News host will undergo a grilling by members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who want to know more about allegations of past excessive drinking, sexual misconduct, and financial mismanagement at a pair of veterans’ groups from which he was let go. Democrats are pushing for access to the FBI's background check on Hegseth. So far, as per tradition, that information has only been shared with committee leaders.
DICK BLUMENTHAL: I'm told that they may well have not interviewed his ex-spouses or the accuser. I think that is a gap in the FBI report, if true.
It is a playing of the old hits ahead of the confirmation hearing: a chance to get one last smear in before Hegseth before the Armed Services Committee to get grilled. The unsourced sexual allegations and the allegations of heavy drinking serve as a convenient frame from which to push to disqualify Hegseth in the court of public opinion.
As we noted when this pattern of reporting first emerged:
What we are watching unfold in real time is nothing less than the Kavaborking of Pete Hegseth. On the one hand, there is the drip-drip-drip of unsourced allegations of excessive alcohol consumption and sexual impropriety, similar to what we saw during the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court.
On the other, the ferocious ideological opposition to the nominee.
Expect gleeful reporting if Senate Democrats give Hegseth an adversarial hearing.
Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned report as aired on the CBS Evening News on Monday, January 13th, 2025:
NORAH O’DONNELL: In just seven days Donald Trump begins his second term as president, and there's a flurry of activity this week at The Capitol as confirmation hearings begin for a dozen of his picks for top jobs. CBS's Nancy Cordes reports on one nomination that’s facing trouble.
TOMMY TUBERVILLE: I'm 110% behind Pete Hegseth.
NANCY CORDES: In the Senate version of a pep rally, Alabama Republican Tommy Tuberville sought to boost Pete Hegseth's chances today, praising him alongside some former Navy Seals.
MITCH AGUIAR: Pete is definitely that breath of fresh air when it comes to the Department of Defense.
CORDES: Tomorrow, the former Fox News host will undergo a grilling by members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who want to know more about allegations of past excessive drinking, sexual misconduct, and financial mismanagement at a pair of veterans’ groups from which he was let go. Democrats are pushing for access to the FBI's background check on Hegseth. So far, as per tradition, that information has only been shared with committee leaders.
DICK BLUMENTHAL: I'm told that they may well have not interviewed his ex-spouses or the accuser. I think that is a gap in the FBI report, if true.
CORDES: Hegseth has denied any sexual misconduct.
PETE HEGSETH: The matter was fully investigated and I was completely cleared.
CORDES: And says he won't drink at all if confirmed.
Does he have your vote for tomorrow?
KEVIN CRAMER: He does unless there is something that comes up that we don't know.
CORDES: He is one of a dozen Trump picks who have hearings scheduled over the next three days. Some, like Florida Senator Marco Rubio, up for of Secretary of State, are elected to sail through. Here in Florida today, a federal judge cleared the way for the release of part of Special Counsel Jack Smith's report. The report details the investigation into Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Norah.
O’DONNELL: Nancy Cordes. Thank you.
