While some Republican senators say they aren’t ready to just yet commit to supporting Pete Hegseth as damaging stories about his drinking and leadership continue to surface, Rick Scott is not one of them.
Hegseth continued to make the rounds with senators in Washington on Thursday and, after his visit with Scott, the Florida Republican went to social media to say he’d had a “great” discussion about Hegseth’s vision for the Defense Department if he is confirmed by the Senate.
“I respect people like Pete who’ve put on the uniform, served our country, held people accountable and successfully led teams when their life and the lives of others were on the line — that’s who Pete is, and why he has my full support,” Scott said on X.
On Wednesday, Scott took aim at some of the anonymous voices that have spoken critically about Hegseth, lamenting to CNN’s Jake Tapper about how “these people are trying to disparage somebody.”
“This is a great nominee, and I’m disgusted that these anonymous sources say these things without willing to go on your show or some show and have you ask them all the questions,” Scott said to Tapper.
Tapper replied that the woman who has alleged that Hegseth sexually assaulted her in 2017 (an incident that resulted in no charges against Hegseth) could not speak to him because Hegseth paid her an unknown amount of money in exchange for a nondisclosure agreement (NDA). Tapper asked Scott whether Hegseth should release her from that NDA.
“Absolutely not,” Scott replied, adding, “Some of these things [NDAs] are done for a variety of reasons, but —”
Tapper interrupted. “How am I supposed to interview her and have her not be anonymous anymore if he won’t release her from the nondisclosure agreement?”
“First off, there was an investigation, he wasn’t charged,” Scott replied. “Why don’t people respect these people who defend our freedom?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tapper replied, before later saying that he respected veterans and soldiers, “but that’s not really the point. Millions of Americans have served in the military, but that doesn’t mean that they should be in charge of the military.”
–Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix
