Graham Prepared to Move Forward With Trump Nominee Pete Hegseth

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) speaks to reporters at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia on Sept. 10, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

A top Republican senator said on Dec. 15 that he believes Pete Hegesth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, will be confirmed unless people who have made accusations against Hegseth without publicly disclosing their names come forward.

“I’m in a good place with Pete, unless something I don’t know about comes out,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

In 2017, a woman told police in California that Hegseth sexually assaulted her, but no charges were brought because prosecutors said the allegations could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Other anonymous accusers have alleged that Hegseth had a drinking problem and made inappropriate remarks.

“All of these are anonymous allegations. He’s given me his side of the story. It makes sense to me. I believe him,” Graham said on NBC. “Unless somebody is willing to come forward, I think he’s going to get through.”

Graham, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, referenced the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, which saw multiple women allege that the justice assaulted women.

“Five people accused Justice Kavanaugh of misconduct. Three were outright lies. The other two, I think, were not credible,” Graham said. “So we’re not going to let that happen to Pete. You’re not going to destroy his nomination based on anonymous sources. People have to come forward and make credible allegations, and we'll see if they do.”

In 2020, Hegseth paid the woman who filed the police report in exchange for her signing a nondisclosure agreement, according to his lawyer, Timothy Parlatore.

Hegseth told Graham that the woman would be released from the agreement, the senator said.

“I’ve spoken about this extensively in TV interviews over a week ago. There is nothing new to add,” Parlatore told The Epoch Times on Monday.

Parlatore said in an appearance on CNN that the woman was free to speak but that she might face a defamation lawsuit “if she repeats these false statements,” or the allegations in the report.

“I have no issue if Jane Doe wants to tell the truth. But, if she chooses to lie, as she did to the police, there could be legal consequences to that,” he wrote on the social media platform X.

The position of defense secretary, which is part of the Cabinet, requires Senate confirmation. A nominee is confirmed if he or she receives a simple majority. Republicans will have 53 seats in the 100-member chamber come January 2025.

A number of GOP senators have been holding one-on-one meetings with Hegseth, following Trump’s selection. Once Trump is sworn in on Jan. 20, 2025, senators will hold a public confirmation hearing in which Hegseth will answer questions. A committee, which will have a Republican majority, will then decide whether to advance the nominee to the full Senate for the confirmation vote.

Trump has reiterated his support for Hegseth, and the nominee went with the president-elect to a football game in Maryland on Saturday.