Pete Hegseth was hit with another controversial report Tuesday. Ten current and former Fox News employees tell NBC News that during Hegseth's tenure as a co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend—which started in 2017 and ended after President-elect Trump announced Hegseth as his choice to lead the Defense Department—his drinking concerned them. They describe Hegseth showing up late and going on air after talking about being hungover, and one says that as recently as last month, they smelled alcohol on him. But none recalled Hegseth ever missing work due to alcohol. Previous reports, including an extensive New Yorker piece published Sunday, have alleged Hegseth's drinking has been an issue at other times, including during his involvement with two veteran's charities.
As NBC points out, the allegations are raising concerns that Hegseth will be able to handle the "round-the-clock," "on the job at all hours" nature of the defense secretary's job. But the Trump camp isn't concerned: "These disgusting allegations are completely unfounded and false, and anyone peddling these defamatory lies to score political cheap shots is sickening," a rep from Trump's transition team says in a statement. "As a decorated combat veteran, Pete has never done anything to jeopardize that, and he is treating his nomination as the most important deployment of his life." Meanwhile, another report Tuesday, this one from CNN, points out Hegseth's history of backing controversial military-related policies, such as sending in troops to put down protests and utilizing enhanced interrogation techniques like waterboarding. (Senators are starting to sound more worried.)
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