A number of Pete Hegseth’s former Fox News colleagues went public with their concerns about the drinking habits of Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary—sparking doubts that he would be able to carry out the around-the-clock duties required by the critically important office.
The former Fox & Friends Weekend co-host has been under intense scrutiny after a number of reports detailed his past exploits—including allegations of sexual assault, lecherous behavior, anti-Muslim sentiments, binge drinking and a history of mismanaging veterans organizations.
A whistleblower report published over the weekend by The New Yorker alleged that the 44-year-old had a history of drinking heavily at work events while he ran a series of veterans’ advocacy groups. Three current and seven former Fox employees shared their own stories of Hegseth’s alleged drinking habits with NBC News Tuesday, adding to the list of concerns about Trump’s embattled pick to lead the Pentagon.
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Hegseth’s former Fox co-host, Will Cain, shot back at the network, calling the accusations leveled by his colleagues “100 percent bulls--t.”
“Your story is horseshit @NBCNews,” he added. “Put my name on it. On the record. It’ll be your only on the record source. Signed, the guy who sat next to him for 8 hours every week for five years starting at 6am.”
Neither Fox News nor Hegseth’s lawyer immediately responded to the Daily Beast’s request for comment.
Two of Hegseth’s former colleagues told NBC that they would often smell alcohol on him before he went on air during his stint as a co-host on Fox & Friends Weekend. They added that he would reportedly talk about being hungover as he was getting ready to go on set or appear live on air. One source reportedly claimed to smell alcohol on him as recently as last month, and said they heard him talk about being hungover this fall.
“Everyone would be talking about it behind the scenes before he went on the air,” one former Fox employee told NBC News. Two other former employees and one current Fox employee also shared that they felt the need to “babysit” Hegseth because of his drinking.
“We’d have to call him to make sure he didn’t oversleep because we knew he’d be out partying the night before,” one source said. None of the sources could remember a moment where Hegseth missed an appearance because he had been drinking, but several noted that he sometimes arrived at the studio with 20 minutes or less before the show began.
The Daily Beast also obtained pictures of Hegseth taken just before midnight on a Friday night in December 2017, in which he appeared to have been drinking heavily. He appeared on air the next morning.
Some employees also expressed their concerns about Hegseth’s ability to fulfill his role as defense secretary, a demanding, 24-hour-a-day job. One former employee told NBC News, “For the sake of national security, I really hope he has stopped drinking.”
“He should not be secretary of defense,” another former Fox employee added. “His drinking should be disqualifying.”
Following the allegations, at least six Senate Republicans have expressed opposition to Hegseth’s bid, according to NBC News. He can only stand to lose three votes thanks to the chamber’s razor-thin margin.
In an interview with CBS News published Tuesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham—otherwise an ally of Trump’s—expressed reservations about the former Fox host’s candidacy. The South Carolina Republican described Hegseth’s alleged drinking habits as “disturbing” and said they would be hard to defend.
“Some of these articles are very disturbing. He obviously has a chance to defend himself here,” Graham disclosed. “Some of this stuff is going to be difficult. You know time will tell.”
“Some of the things have to be addressed and we’ll see,” he continued. “What we want to do is make sure that we have good order and discipline.”
In response to the allegations floated by Hegseth’s former colleagues, a spokesperson for the Trump transition team described NBC News’ report as “disgusting” and “completely unfounded and false”
“Anyone peddling these defamatory lies to score political cheap shots is sickening,” they continued. “As a decorated combat veteran, Pete has never done anything to jeopardize that, and he is treating his nomination as the most important deployment of his life.”
Fox News contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier also wrote on X that she “routinely sat on the couch with @PeteHegseth for 8 years,” adding that “not once did I suspect he had consumed anything other than an egg sandwich and coffee before going on air.”
A lawyer for Hegseth, Tim Parlatore, told The New Yorker: “We’re not going to comment on outlandish claims laundered through the New Yorker by a petty and jealous disgruntled former associate of Mr. Hegseth’s. Get back to us when you try your first attempt at actual journalism.”
In tandem with Hegseth’s allegations of drinking, Vanity Fair also published an explosive report on Monday claiming that the former TV host admitted to cheating on his first wife as many as five times.
According to the outlet, Hegseth and his first wife Meredith Schwarz married after graduating college, but their love story ultimately crashed and burned after Hegseth reportedly admitted to having five affairs while the pair were married.
One of those affairs was with a colleague at veterans’ advocacy group Vets for Freedom, Samantha Deering, who he married after his divorce from Schwarz. Hegseth reportedly cheated on Deering as well, carrying out an affair with Fox News producer Jennifer Rauchet. He later welcomed a baby with Rauchet in 2017 and the pair married in 2019. The couple remain together to this day.
Despite the escalating controversy surrounding Hegseth’s nomination, Republican senators seemed to reaffirm their support for Trump’s cabinet pick Monday night after sitting for a meeting with him.
Florida Sen. Rick Scott told Axios, “[Pete’s] clearly committed to making sure we have a lethal military that scares the crap out of our enemies.”
Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis also insinuated that Hegseth’s allegations were a distraction, describing them as “side issues” while reiterating the importance of restoring “American confidence in our military.”
Hegseth finally seemed to be feeling the heat Tuesday, with CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins reporting that he planned to sit for an interview on Fox News Wednesday.
“In a sign of how seriously the Trump transition team is viewing Republican senators’ concerns about Pete Hegseth, he is expected to sit for an interview with Fox News tomorrow, I’m told by multiple people,” Collins tweeted. “That’s notable given most (if not all?) of Trump’s Cabinet picks have been told not to do media until after they are confirmed.”
