In August 2021, Pete Hegseth mentioned on Will Cain’s podcast that slowly, certainly, “by the grace of God”, he had managed to rid himself of a sample of alcohol abuse that had plagued him since his return of navy fight in Iraq in 2006.
Requested about his New Yr’s resolutions on the identical podcast in mid-January 2024Mr. Hegseth once more talked about alcohol. “The much less alcohol factor doesn’t work for me,” he mentioned then.
Mr. Hegseth, the previous Fox Information anchor and fight veteran chosen by President-elect Donald J. Trump for protection secretary, will possible be requested to return to the problem of his ingesting in connection of his Senate affirmation hearings on Tuesday.
The New York Occasions and different information shops have documented extreme ingesting on the a part of Mr. Hegseth. In essentially the most critical episode, a girl in Monterey, California, accused him of raping her in 2017. Mr. Hegseth mentioned the encounter was consensual and didn’t lead to any costs prison. His lawyer mentioned Mr Hegseth was intoxicated on the time.
In an interview with Megyn Kelly’s SiriusXM present final month, Mr. Hegseth acknowledged that his issues about his ingesting had put his nomination in jeopardy. He then promised that there can be “not a drop of alcohol on my lips” if he was confirmed.
“I want to ensure the senators, the troops, President Trump and everybody know that if you name me 24/7, you’re absolutely related to Pete, identical to you at all times have finished in Iraq and Afghanistan,” he mentioned then.
Relying on how he responds to senators’ questions, Mr. Hegseth may seem sufficiently reformed or missing the self-discipline wanted to occupy some of the crucial ministerial posts.
Some Democrats have vowed to problem his health for the job, primarily based partially on his ingesting. “A Secretary of Protection should train clear judgment and be ready to be referred to as upon at a second’s discover, and a Secretary who fights extreme and inappropriate ingesting undermines our nationwide safety,” the senator wrote Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts. in a letter addressed to him on January 6.
Mr. Hegseth’s pledge to abstain from alcohol echoed that of one other candidate for Secretary of Protection, John Tower, who mentioned in 1989: “If confirmed, I won’t drink.” Mr. Tower additionally promised to resign if he hesitated, however that also wasn’t sufficient to beat his rowdy repute and the Senate voted him out.
As a part of a background verify that started final month, FBI brokers requested not less than some folks whether or not Mr. Hegseth had abused alcohol, nevertheless it was unclear Monday to what extent that investigation was thorough.
A evaluate by The Occasions of Mr. Hegseth’s public statements lately discovered that he typically referred to his ingesting, each when describing some darkish moments in his life and evenly joking about having fun with an “additional drink” or a sure kind of alcohol. .
Mr. Hegseth mentioned within the 2021 podcast episode that he had problem adjusting to civilian life after his deployment to Iraq.
“At 10 p.m., I used to be wanting round and considering, ‘What am I going to do right this moment?’ What if I drank beers? ‘” he advised Mr. Cain. “And one beer results in many, results in self-medication, results in ‘I deserved this.’ Like, “Don’t inform me I can’t. »
He mentioned he had succeeded in “undoing this cycle,” however didn’t specify when.
In 2020 and 2021, Mr. Hegseth repeatedly recounted being extraordinarily drunk with a veteran concerned within the 2011 raid in Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden.
“The primary time I heard Rob O’Neill’s full story in a bar concerning the bin Laden raid, I assumed I used to be going to fulfill him for 45 minutes. 4 and a half hours later, I may barely stroll and I heard the entire story,” he mentioned on Fox Nation’s “Friday Night time Stay” in a 2020 episode.
As weekend anchor of the morning present “Fox & Associates” from 2017 to 2024, Mr. Hegseth and his colleagues ceaselessly joked about his style in beer, gin and whiskey.
Reply a query about his weight within the 2020 episode on Fox NationMr Hegseth mentioned his food regimen consisted primarily of “protein and alcohol”. However he additionally hinted that he was attempting to chop down on his ingesting. “I put this a lot soda and this a lot gin, so I do not actually drink a lot, though I may need plenty of drinks. You understand how it goes,” he mentioned.
Three years later, show up at a “Fox & Friends” episode in a tuxedo at a celebration the day earlier than, he mentioned: “I have been partying all night time and I am right here and I have not modified.”
Mr. Hegseth’s therapy of girls is also mentioned. In an email from 2018his mom, Penelope Hegseth, accused him of abusing girls for years. “I’ve no respect for males who demean, lie, cheat, mattress and use girls for their very own energy and ego. You’re that man,” she wrote to him.
Ms Hegseth later disavowed these emotions and mentioned she had apologized to her son for the e-mail.
Within the interview with Ms. Kelly, Mr. Hegseth mentioned, with the assistance of his third spouse and his spiritual religion, “I’ve turn into a modified man.”
Emily Metal stories contributed.
