Allegations of sexual assault and alcohol abuse has brought the fate of Pete Hegseth’s position for the Defense Secretary in a limbo. Although, the President-elect of the United States of America Donald Trump’s picked nominee for the post says that he still has the president-elect’s backing, recent reports suggest that his nomination may be in jeopardy. As per reliable sources and BBC’s report, Trump is considering replacing Hegseth with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
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Pete Hegseth, whose political career is in question now, has found himself time and again – embroiled in controversies. Since Trump nominated the former Fox News host, questions about Hegseth’s qualifications have been raised – and a historical sexual assault allegation has surfaced. However, Hegseth has denied any wrongdoing, and was never arrested or charged.
Hegseth refrained from directly addressing him being replaced by Ron DeSantis reports on Wednesday, instead sharing that Trump had urged him to “keep going, keep fighting.” He spent much of the day in private meetings on Capitol Hill, aiming to ease concerns and rally support in the Senate. “I spoke to the president this morning. (Trump) supports me fully. We’re not going anywhere,” Hegseth told the BBC. Earlier that morning, Hegseth took to X, accusing “the Left” of attempting to discredit him with “fake” stories.
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Read on to know more.
Who is Pete Hegseth?
Peter Brian Hegseth is an American television presenter, author, and former Army National Guard officer who has been announced as the forthcoming nominee for United States secretary of defense in Donald Trump’s second cabinet.
A political commentator for Fox News since 2014 and weekend co-host of Fox & Friends from 2017 to 2024, he was previously the executive director of Vets for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America.
Hegseth has been active in conservative and Republican politics since his undergraduate days at Princeton University. As a national guardsman he served at Guantánamo Bay and in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2016, he emerged as a supporter of Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy, and he served as an occasional advisor to Trump throughout the latter’s first term as president. Following Hegseth’s encouragement, in 2019 Trump pardoned three soldiers accused or convicted of war crimes. Hegseth was considered to lead the United States Department of Veterans Affairs in the first Trump administration, but David Shulkin was tapped instead.
Know all about the sordid tale of Pete Hegseth’s first marriage
On November 12, 2024, President-elect Trump announced his intention to nominate Hegseth to serve as U.S. defense secretary. However, now the finality of the nomination is in question.
Much like his political career, his personal life has also had quite a few ups and downs. From infidelity issues to sexual misconduct allegations – the list ain’t short.
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Marriage with Meredith Schwarz:
In 2004, Hegseth married his first wife, Meredith Schwarz, who was his high school girlfriend from Minnesota; they divorced in 2009 after he admitted to five affairs.
Pete and Meredith, who were pupils of the Forest Lake Area High School in the suburbs of Minneapolis, started their fairytale love story from the fences of high school. Pete and Meredith seemed like the perfect high school sweethearts! He played varsity football and basketball, she was on the student council and a nominee for homecoming queen. Both of them were both academic all stars bound for elite schools. While Pete went to Princeton, Meredith was destined for Barnard. They were voted as the pair ‘most likely to marry’ and the yearbook photo featured Hegseth wearing a football jersey with his arms around Schwarz’s waist – straight out of a rom-com movie!
As the classmates’ prediction came true, in 2004, Hegseth married Schwarz at the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Minnesota.
However, the high-school-sweethearts’ marriage was short-lived.
Know all about the sordid tale of Pete Hegseth’s first marriage
In December 2008, Schwarz filed for divorce after Hegseth admitted that he cheated on her, according to four sources close to the couple; as APM Reports previously revealed that the infidelity was listed as grounds in the couple’s divorce proceedings. As per those sources, Hegseth’s infidelity left Schwarz emotionally and psychologically devastated. One of them told Vanity Fair, “She was gaslighted by him heavily throughout their relationship. As far as everyone else was concerned, they were viewed by many as this all-American power couple that were making big things for themselves.”
Marriage with Samantha Deering:
When Meredith Schwarz filed for divorce, Hegseth was dating Samantha Deering, whom he met while working in Washington, DC, at Vets for Freedom. In 2010, Hegseth married Deering. With Samantha, Pete has three kids.
In August 2017, while still married to Samantha, Hegseth had daughter Gwen, with Fox executive producer Jennifer Rauchet. In September 2017, Deering filed for divorce that took ten months to finalize.
Marriage with Jennifer Rauchet:
Know all about the sordid tale of Pete Hegseth’s first marriage
After fathering a daughter with Rauchet, Hegseth married her in 2019 at Trump’s golf course in Colts Neck, New Jersey.
A string of failed marriages and a scornful mother:
In 2018, during Hegseth’s divorce proceedings from his second wife Samantha, his mother Penelope Hegseth sent him an email criticizing his treatment of women. The email stated: “You are an abuser of women – that is the ugly truth and I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth…It’s time for a someone (I wish it was a strong man) to stand up to your abusive behavior and call it out, especially against women.”
The New York Times published this email in November 2024 after Trump announced his intention to nominate Hegseth to be defense secretary. When interviewed about the email, Penelope Hegseth told the Times she had written it “in anger, with emotion” and had “immediately apologized in a separate email,” adding that her previous characterization had “never been true.”
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