Mullin defends Hegseth over drinking allegations: ‘Pete’s doing exactly what he needs to do’

Sen. Markwayne Mullin defended Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, saying he’s doing everything right so far ahead of his confirmation hearing.

“Pete’s doing exactly what he needs to do. He’s on Capitol Hill. He’s speaking with senators,” the Oklahoma Republican said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “There’s been absolutely no ’no’s’ from Republican senators at this point. He continues to make his case, and his case is something that I — when he sits down with you, he’s able to articulate very well.”

Mr. Hegseth has been on Capitol Hill multiple times now to meet with different Republican senators. He is expected to continue meeting with them in the coming weeks.

“I think Pete will make an outstanding secretary of defense, and I believe that he’s going through the process,” he said. “Now, he has an uphill battle, but he’s taking the fight straight to Capitol Hill, like he should. He’s going to have a hearing in Senate Armed Services. He will have to answer tough questions, and I believe he will be able to answer every one of them.”

He argued that Mr. Hegseth is “exactly the one we need,” and pointed out that he was a combat veteran and major in the Army, as well as working in the public sector.

While some Republican senators have thrown their support behind Mr. Hegseth, others are still wary, due to news reports about his past, including multiple allegations of sexual assault, infidelity and alcoholism.

When asked what he thought about his colleagues concerns about Mr. Hegseth’s potential drinking problem, Mr. Mullin came out in defense of him, arguing that as a veteran, he has seen some horrific scenes.

“If he did have a drinking problem, that would be obvious. But to make something out of it that isn’t there just because he’s going through secretary of defense, the media should be ashamed of themselves,” Mr. Mullin said. “They should put themselves in their shoes and every other combat veteran’s shoes before they go out there and criticize him.”

He said there’s “a lot of alcohol that flows through Washington, D.C., on a regular basis.”

“I wouldn’t say that people are alcoholics or they have a drinking problem because of that. I don’t see it at all,” he said. “I don’t see that being a problem. And I really wish that the media would move on and start focusing on what he can bring as secretary of defense, because he has a lot of good attributes too, but we only focus on the negative.”