President-elect Donald Trump’s defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth faced reporters on Capitol Hill Monday but refused to answer questions surrounding accusations about his drinking habits.
Arriving for meetings, Hegseth, 44, was directly asked at one point, “Do you have an alcohol problem?”
The former Fox News host ignored the question and continued on.
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Then, in another instance, CBS’ Nikole Killion scored a moment with Hegseth in the corridors. “Were you ever drunk while traveling on the job?”
“I won’t dignify that with a response,” Hegseth responded.
“I’m talking to all the senators and I look forward to their discussions,” Hegseth added.
Hegseth has come under fire since being chosen by Trump, from accusations of sexual assault to new reports of drunken belligerence at veteran organizations he managed.
According to records obtained by The New Yorker, Hegseth mismanaged two nonprofit advocacy groups for vets, made inappropriate sexual advances, and had multiple instances of being drunk on duty.
One incident in the records said that in 2015 Hegseth drunkenly yelled, “Kill all Muslims! Kill All Muslims!” at an Ohio bar while on an official visit with one of the groups.
The New Yorker reported that the two groups forced him to step down. Hegseth’s lawyer denied the allegations, and called them “outlandish claims” that were made by “a petty and jealous disgruntled former associate.”
During his time at Concerned Veterans for America from 2013 to 2016, a whistleblower report detailed his repeated drunkenness on the job, even needing to be carried out of official events.
Another complaint read that he had to be restrained at a strip club because Hegseth “was so drunk he tried to get on the stage and dance with the strippers.”
“I’ve seen him drunk so many times,” one of the contributors told The New Yorker. “I’ve seen him dragged away not a few times but multiple times. To have him at the Pentagon would be scary.”
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