Pete Hegseth’s leadership, alcohol concerns would sink other nominees, ex-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, faces significant personal and professional obstacles that would scuttle any other choice to lead the U.S. military, former chief Leon Panetta said.

Panetta, who led the Defense Department under President Obama from mid-2011 to early 2013, stressed the need for the incoming defense secretary to possess both the “personal qualities” and leadership experience needed to oversee an agency with almost 3 million employees.

“He has problems on both fronts,” Panetta said Newsweekciting reports that Hegseth was forced out of previous roles due to financial mismanagement and had repeatedly gotten drunk while working as president of Concerned Veterans for America. “It’s hard to discipline the military if you can’t discipline yourself.”

Hegseth, 44, faces an uphill confirmation battle following revelations that he settled with a woman who accused him of rape in 2017 and an email written by his mother in 2018 in which he claims that he abused women for years.

Panetta, 86, said senators must dutifully determine whether Hegseth has the appropriate virtues and qualities to oversee the world’s largest military force if the Army National Guard veteran and former Fox News host ultimately decides not to resign themselves.

“It’s very important for the Senate to roll up its sleeves and take a hard look at him,” Panetta said Tuesday. “You’re talking about a position where you have to be able to lead 3 million people: 2 million in uniform and one million civilians. So you have to at least have experience in leadership. To really understand the role of the military as well, you have and how it should be used.”

Panetta acknowledged Hegseth’s military background but questioned whether the veteran, who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, understood the scope of the role, including being tasked with procuring weapons systems or overseeing the Defense Department’s recruiting efforts.

The latter may be especially difficult for Hegseth, a “guy who doesn’t support women in the military,” according to Panetta, who revoked the Pentagon’s ban on women serving in ground combat units in 2013.

“The bottom line is that there are an awful lot of questions that the Senate needs to be aware of when it comes to deciding whether this is the right guy for the job,” Panetta said.

Military leaders, including the secretary of defense, should serve as role models for the men and women they oversee, Panetta said.

“You have to reflect the kind of important character traits that would make you a model for others who put their lives on the line for this country,” he said. “I don’t know what his problems are, but he has a history of alcohol problems and he also has a history of possible sexual abuse.”

Those “serious questions” must be thoroughly examined at Hegseth’s confirmation hearings, Panetta said.

“To determine exactly what is involved,” he continued. “And has he taken steps to deal with those issues? And is it possible for him to be able to get beyond that kind of baggage to be someone who not only leads our military but has to make sure that he getting Congress to pass a strong defense budget There are many issues involved here.”

Hegseth’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, said his client has no intention of withdrawing from the nomination process.

“The idea of ​​removing a candidate based on anonymous, false complaints is quite offensive to our constitutional principles of due process,” Parlatore told Newsweek. “Mr. Hegseth very much looks forward to FBI background checks and a proper investigation that will quickly debunk these allegations. He is very confident of that.”

Trump’s transition team did not return a message seeking comment on Hegseth’s future.

Wall Street Journal reported late Tuesday that Trump is considering Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a possible replacement, as Hegseth’s candidacy may not survive further scrutiny.

Trump is also considering Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-TN, as possible options, CNN reported.

Hegseth’s mother, meanwhile, appeared on Fox News early Wednesday and insisted her son had overcome the issues she described in a 2018 email. by The New York Times blasting him as an “abuser” of women. She also acknowledged that he had become a distraction for Trump.

“To some extent, but I think it can be overcome,” said Penelope Hegseth. “I think people need to listen to him, get to know him — not the Pete of seven years ago, but the Pete of today.”

Hegseth also declined to say whether she will testify at her son’s confirmation hearings following the publication of her email, which she sent amid Pete’s separation from his second wife, Samantha Hegseth, who filed for divorce after he impregnated Jennifer Rauchet. an executive producer at Fox News.

“You are a woman abuser – that’s the ugly truth and I have no respect for any man who belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego,” Penelope Hegseth wrote in the message. “You are that man (and have been for years), and as your mother, it pains and embarrasses me to say it, but it’s the sad, sad truth.”

Panetta said he was also troubled by reports that Hegseth was forced out of two nonprofit advocacy groups, Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America, over allegations of misconduct, including widespread alcohol abuse and sexual harassment of female employees.

Hegseth also allegedly shouted “Kill all Muslims” while drunk in 2015 during an official Concerned Veterans for America tour in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, The New Yorker reported.

“It’s hard to be secretary and put our young men and women at risk if you don’t really present both that strong character and strong leadership model to those you send to war,” Panetta said. “It’s really important for the Senate to think long and hard about someone who’s had these issues and really understand whether he’s gotten over them or whether he’s still having the same issues. That’s critical to deciding whether he must be approved or not.”