Fox News hosts became enraged when a House Democrat asked two Donald Trump Cabinet members whether Pete Hegseth was drinking when he leaked sensitive attack plans to a reporter.
The hosts of Outnumbered reacted to a clip of Rep. Jimmy Gomez posing the question to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. They called the line of interrogation “ridiculous” and “embarrassing.”
Hegseth, a former Fox News host himself, dealt with a number of allegations that surfaced during his nomination process for defense secretary. Among them were reports from unnamed colleagues at Fox that he had abused alcohol at work events and showed up to set hungover and smelling of alcohol.
Hegseth denied ever having had a drinking problem—but nonetheless vowed to stop drinking if he was confirmed as defense secretary.
“To your knowledge, do you know whether Pete Hegseth had been drinking before he leaked classified information?” Gomez asked Gabbard and Ratcliffe, under oath, as they testified to Congress about Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg being added to a Signal group chat where sensitive military information was shared.
Gabbard gave a straightforward dismissal: “I don’t have any knowledge of Secretary Hegseth’s personal habits.”
Ratcliffe, meanwhile, didn’t hide his anger at the question. “You know, no, I’m going to answer that,” he said. “I think that’s an offensive line of questioning. The answer is no.”
Ratcliffe and Gomez shouted over each other for several seconds before the California lawmaker was able to reclaim his time. “You don’t want to focus on the good work that the CIA is doing, that the intelligence community—” the CIA director yelled.
Reacting to the clip, the Fox News hosts defended their former colleague—making clear their disdain for the question.
“There has been a theme today as we’ve talked about decorum and the frankly embarrassing behavior exhibited by some sitting congresspeople,” said co-host Emily Compagno. “That right there is another example. I find it offensive.”
Co-host Lawrence Jones, meanwhile, called the clip “nuts” and “disgraceful,” but acknowledged that Hegseth had struggled with alcohol after he returned from war.
“When [soldiers] come back from war, they come with a lot of bruises that people can’t see,” he said. “Some of them resort to pills, and some resort to alcohol. Some resort to killing themselves. Pete Hegseth has been quite transparent about his fall and how the Lord was able to turn his life around.”
Calling Hegseth a “friend,” Jones revealed that he had “seen his transformation.”
While Hegseth has denied having a drinking problem, he has admitted that for a time he turned to alcohol to “deal with the demons you see on the battlefield.”
Jones also recounted a recent conversation he had with Hegseth after interviewing him for Fox.
“Once the cameras stopping rolling, [I said], ‘I would love to buy you a drink,‘” Jones said. “Immediately, he corrected me and said, ‘Bro, I’m done with it.’ I think it is disgusting that members of Congress to conduct themselves this way.”
Co-host Gerri Willis dismissed Gomez’s question as “desperation on the part of the Democrats. They can get no currency or traction with the American public. They are throwing anything against the wall that they can.”
The allegations of alcohol abuse broke during Hegseth’s nomination process, alongside an accusation of sexual assault, which he likewise denied.
“He should not be secretary of defense,” one unnamed Fox colleague told NBC News in December. “His drinking should be disqualifying.”
Nevertheless, Hegseth was confirmed in the Republican-controlled Senate by a single tie-breaking vote.
Hegseth has denied that he did anything wrong after Trump’s National Security Adviser Mike Waltz accidentally added Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a group chat where the defense secretary shared details—including the exact timing—of impending airstrikes on the Houthi terrorist group in Yemen.
Despite accounts to the contrary, Hegseth has maintained that no war plans or classified information were shared in the chat.
