With Gaetz gone, Trump’s troubled Pentagon nominee is in the hot seat

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s abrupt withdrawal of his bid to be attorney general on Thursday could be bad news for another of President-elect Donald Trump’s picks: Pete Hegseth.

Hegseth’s nomination for Defense secretary is facing headwinds over seven-year-old allegations of sexual assault, although he was never charged. But Hegseth so far had been overshadowed by Gaetz, a flame-throwing congressional ally with numerous foes in both parties who faced his own misconduct allegations, including that he engaged in sex with a minor.

With Gaetz stepping out of contention, scrutiny could quickly shift to Hegseth after revelations that the Army veteran and former Fox News personality paid his accuser and the release on Thursday of a 22-page police report of the alleged 2017 incident in Monterey, California. Hegseth denies wrongdoing.

Indeed, Hegseth "could hide behind Gaetz" because the former lawmaker’s misconduct allegations are more far-reaching and have been in the public eye longer, a person familiar with the Trump transition said. But now, the person said, Hegseth "is at the front of the line." The person was granted anonymity to speak candidly about Hegseth’s chances of confirmation.

There’s no sign that Republicans, four of whom would need to defect to sink Hegseth, are about to abandon the Pentagon pick. But some top Democrats, who argue Hegseth is unqualified in addition to his personal issues, are counting on closer scrutiny of his nomination.

"The spotlight will fall very heavily on him,” predicted Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.). “The combination of Gaetz's withdrawal and the latest reports on the Monterey incident, I think, will dramatically increase scrutiny of the SecDef nominee."

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) argues the outlook is different from just a few hours earlier, when Gaetz was still in the picture.

Gaetz’s withdrawal “removes the distraction that maybe Trump world thought he would provide for some of the other nominees,” Blumenthal said.

The Trump team, meanwhile, appeared to be circling the wagons Thursday as Hegseth and Vice President-elect JD Vance met with Republicans on Capitol Hill, most of whom are close allies.

Hegseth also offered his defense following the meetings, telling reporters that he “was completely cleared” in the police investigation.