The Senate Armed Services Committee is holding its confirmation hearing today for Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick to become defense secretary. The New Yorker magazine has revealed several Republican senators refused to meet with the woman who accused Hegseth of raping her at a Republican women’s conference in Monterey, California, in 2017. The FBI also did not talk to the woman, as well as other possible sources, including one of Hegseth’s former wives or former employees of Concerned Veterans for America. Hegseth was forced out from the group over accusations of financial mismanagement, sexual misconduct and public drunkenness.
The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer reports Hegseth’s supporters have intimidated potential witnesses from speaking out against the former Fox News host. Mayer also reveals a group of conservative billionaires, including Bill Koch and Richard Uihlein, plan to spend a million dollars to pressure Republican senators to support Hegseth.
Confirmation hearings for interior secretary nominee Doug Burgum and veterans affairs secretary nominee Doug Collins were scheduled for today but have been postponed.