WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The nomination of , President-elect Donald Trump's choice , is as senators who would need to confirm him weigh a series of allegations that have surfaced against him.
Hegseth's mother appeared on Fox News on Wednesday to defend her son, who faces multiple allegations that have emerged in the media about alcohol intoxication at work events, and potential financial mismanagement.
The Trump transition team was growing concerned about Hegseth's path to confirmation and was actively looking at potential replacements, a person familiar with the matter said.
, who competed against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, is being discussed as a possible replacement if Hegseth鈥檚 nomination does not move forward, according to three other people familiar with the matter. They were not authorized to publicly discuss internal deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Trump and DeSantis appeared together on Tuesday at a ceremony in West Palm Beach to honor three fallen sheriff鈥檚 deputies.
The Trump transition team didn鈥檛 immediately comment.
Hegseth鈥檚 mother, Penelope Hegseth joined the 鈥淔ox & Friends鈥� to discuss her son and a 2018 email she wrote him that was obtained by The New York Times, in which she confronted him about mistreating women after he impregnated his current wife while he was married to his second wife.
That letter followed multiple allegations, reported by the New Yorker this week, of questionable conduct around female staffers. Hegseth also was accused of in 2017, which Hegseth told California police at the time was consensual encounter and has denied any wrongdoing.
Hegseth is a former Fox News host and a former Army National Guard major and combat veteran who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. If confirmed by the Senate, he would lead a 2 million member strong military 鈥� more than 17% of whom are female. The revelations have concerned some members of Congress.
鈥淚 would do anything for my son,鈥� Penelope Hegseth said in the TV interview.
She spoke directly to Trump in the segment, saying her son "is not that man he was seven years ago.鈥� She said she wrote the email because Hegseth and his then-wife were going through a very difficult divorce and 鈥渋t was a very emotional time.鈥�
She said she retracted the email and apologized to her son about two hours after sending the emai.
Thomas Beaumont, Adriana Gomez Licon, Zeke Miller And Tara Copp, The Associated Press
