Pete Hegseth and J.D. Vance team up to sway senators to back Trump’s embattled secretary of defense pick

All eyes are on Donald Trump’s choice for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after Matt Gaetz stunningly withdrew his name as attorney general following new claims about sex with minors.

Gaetz’s withdrawal puts more pressure on Hegseth, who is battling his own sordid sexual assault allegations that are hampering his confirmation process.

Hegseth and Vice President-elect JD Vance are on Capitol Hill Thursday to meet with senators who are unsure about the nominee.

He needs to win over a majority of senators to be confirmed, so he can’t afford to lose more than two Republican votes.

Republicans won the Senate majority after the election, giving them a 53-47 lead over Democrats.

But moderate Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have already indicated they may oppose the choice.

Hegseth faces an uphill battle for confirmation after it emerged he was under investigation for alleged sexual abuse in 2017, even though no charges have been filed.

His lawyer admitted that Hegseth paid the woman involved in exchange for her silence. Shocking new details about the incident have emerged in a damning police report.

Hegseth broke his silence on the report, telling reporters in the Senate on Thursday that the “case had been fully investigated and I was fully exonerated.”

“I’ll leave it at that,” he said before walking away before meeting more Republican senators who will vote on his nomination.

“I’ll leave it at that,” he said before walking away before meeting more Republican senators who will vote on his nomination.

Hegseth, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan with a handful of military medals, including two Bronze Stars, is a controversial choice to lead the Defense Department.

Many have wondered whether the 44-year-old former co-host of Fox & Friends Weekends can handle the Pentagon’s $800 billion-plus budget.

But Trump has confidence in Hegseth, whom he calls “courageous and patriotic,” and current service members have told DailyMail.com they think his leadership will be a welcome change at the sprawling agency.

Hegseth himself admitted to Republicans this week that he is facing a “battle” that is “just beginning,” and he is relying on prayer to get him through the “attacks and attacks.”

Top Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming met with Hegseth Thursday morning and called him a “strong nominee.”

“We had an excellent discussion about the need for the US military to remain the best in the world,” he said in a statement to DailyMail.com.

“That means we must take care of our soldiers, equip them with the latest technology and focus on making our military the most lethal fighting force in the world. Pete promised that the Pentagon will focus on strength and hard power – not on the current administration’s political agenda.”

“National security nominations have a history of quick confirmations in the Senate. I look forward to Pete’s hearing and the vote in January.”

Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., said he had an “excellent” meeting with Hegseth and Vance on Thursday.

Hagerty said he had an “excellent” meeting with Hegseth and Vance on Thursday

Top Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming met with Hegseth Thursday morning and called him a ‘strong nominee’

Hegseth and his wife Jennifer have been married since 2017

“Pete knows that it is the Secretary of Defense’s job to enable the men and women of our military to carry out their patriotic duty, not serve as political pawns in a broken Washington.”

He told reporters afterwards: “I am saddened by the attacks coming against Pete.”

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., was asked by the press about the allegations against Hegseth, which he dismissed.

Wicker said he focused instead on discussing “military preparedness.”

Hegseth will need a majority of the Republican Party-led Senate for a confirmation vote.

The alleged incident at the center of Hegseth’s controversy occurred in the early morning hours of Oct. 8, 2017, at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa address in Monterey, California, the city said in a statement.

Police were investigating “an alleged sexual assault” involving Hegseth, a former Fox New host and Army National Guard veteran, which was reported four days later, according to the statement.

No weapons were involved, according to the statement, but there were injuries — “bruises to the right thigh.”

No further details were released and the city said it would not release the full police report, noting it was exempt from public disclosure. The statement did not say what happened to the investigation.

Barrasso: “National security nominations have a history of quick confirmations in the Senate. I look forward to Pete’s hearing and the vote in January.”

Hegseth himself admitted to Republicans this week that he is facing a “battle” that is “just beginning”

Hegseth, who was separated from his second wife at the time of the alleged incident, has not been charged in any criminal case and has not been named as a defendant in any civil lawsuit.

Timothy Parlatore, a lawyer representing Hegseth, told the press: “This statement confirms that although an allegation has been made, it has been fully investigated and no charges have been filed.”

He also admitted to the Washington Post that his client paid the woman for her silence.

He said Hegseth paid her an undisclosed amount because he feared that releasing the allegation “would result in his immediate dismissal from Fox.”

Parlatore said Hegseth was drunk and claimed the woman was “the aggressor in the encounter,” which police disagreed with.

And President-elect Trump stands behind his candidate, according to his staff.

Hegseth and his wife Jennifer

President-elect Trump stands behind his candidate, according to his staff

Hegseth resigned from his position at Fox News during the confirmation process

‘Sir. Hegseth has strongly denied all allegations and no charges have been filed,” Trump communications director Steven Cheung said.

“We look forward to his appointment as United States Secretary of Defense so he can get to work on day one to make America safe and great again.”

A complaint from an unnamed woman with extensive knowledge of the alleged rape, sent to Trump’s staff, explained the story police were told at the time.

Hegseth was a speaker at the California Federation of Republican Women conference at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa on the day of the alleged rape.

Hegseth is a 44-year-old former co-host of Fox & Friends Weekends

Hegseth was a speaker at the California Federation of Republican Women conference at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa on the day of the alleged rape

He then joined other guests in the hotel bar, along with the woman, who was staying at the hotel with her husband and young children.

Part of her job at the conference was to make sure Hegseth would get out of bed in time to catch his flight home the next morning.

At some point that evening, she received text messages from two women at the bar stating that Hegseth was “becoming pushy about his interest in taking them upstairs to his room,” it was alleged.

She reportedly stopped by to talk to them, and as they left she “remembered feeling that Hegseth was annoyed.”