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This is what Fox News coworkers said about Pete Hegseth: “His drinking should be disqualifying”

Trump’s pick to be defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, will head to Capitol Hill on Tuesday for what is expected to be a bruising confirmation hearing.

Former Fox colleagues express concern about Pete Hegseth leading the Pentagon
Elizabeth FrantzREUTERS

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial pick to be defense secretary, will head to Capitol Hill on Tuesday for his public confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee. The former Fox News host is expected to face tough questioning from Democrats who will grill him about numerous scandals that have been reported on since he was nominated on November 12.

The Army veteran’s candidacy to lead the Pentagon was nearly scuppered by those not long after being named and there was talk that Ron DeSantis would replace him. But Hegseth made a defiant stand talking to GOP senators and going on Megyn Kelly’s show. He will be the first of Trump’s controversial Cabinet picks to sit in the hot seat who has little hope of securing any Democratic votes and can only afford to lose three Republican votes.

Hegseth’s “drinking should be disqualifying” say former Fox colleagues

Hegseth is expected to face questions about his lack of experience running an organization the size and scope of the Pentagon, along with its nearly 3 million civilian and military employees. Additionally, his long history of controversial public statements about women and minorities will likely be brought up as well as his history of womanizing and financial mismanagement.

However, perhaps what could most derail his nomination are accusations of heavy drinking as the job requires its holder to be available and ready to respond round-the-clock at a moment’s notice. This was the undoing of former Sen. John Tower, President George HW Bush’s nominee to be defense secretary in 1989, who was rejected by the senate over concerns about his history of drinking.

NBC spoke to 10 then-current and former colleagues of the former co-host of ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ who said that on several occasions prior to going on air that he talked of being hungover or he smelled of alcohol.

While one described him as “a charming guy,” they said “he just acted like the rules didn’t apply to him.” Another told the outlet straight out that “he should not be secretary of defense. His drinking should be disqualifying.”

“For the sake of national security, I really hope he has stopped drinking,” said another former Fox employees.

The New Yorker also published concerns raised about his drinking while on the job when he worked at a Concerned Veterans for America between 2013 and 2016 by a whistleblower and another nonprofit veterans’ group. His lawyer Tim Parlatore called those “outlandish claims” that were made by “a petty and jealous disgruntled former associate.”

These disgusting allegations are completely unfounded and false, and anyone peddling these defamatory lies to score political cheap shots is sickening,” said a spokesperson for the Trump transition team.

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