Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) on Friday showed his support for President-elect Donald Trump’s embattled defense secretary pick, Pete Hegseth, despite what he called his “indiscretions.”
“Look, we’ve all had some indiscretions in our past and things like that — every human has. But good grief,” Roy said in an interview with the right-wing “Charlie Kirk Show” on the Real America’s Voice network.
“Pete Hegseth, you know, he’s got the support of so many people, and he represents somebody who would take on the defense establishment. And we need that, desperately need that.”
Roy’s remarks come as the former Fox News host faces mounting criticism amid allegations of excessive alcohol use and financial mismanagement that reportedly forced him out of the leadership of two veteran advocacy nonprofits. He has also been accused of mistreating women, including in an allegation of rape linked to an incident from 2017. Hegseth has denied any wrongdoing and said that the 2017 encounter was consensual.
Trump — who has reportedly considered other potential defense secretary picks, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), to replace Hegseth — took to his Truth Social platform on Friday to declare that the former Fox News host is a “WINNER,” adding that “there is nothing that can be done to change that.”
The president-elect, in a clip from a “Meet the Press” interview that’s set to air Sunday, said he remains “really” confident in Hegseth.
“He’s a very smart guy. I’ve known him through Fox but I’ve known him for a long time. And he’s basically a military guy. Every time I talk to him, all he wants to talk about is the military,” Trump said.
On Real America’s Voice, Roy said that Hegseth is “under fire” in the Senate due to “squishy senators who have been against everything we want to do.”
“So I hope Pete holds the line all the way through,” Roy said. “I’m defending him, and we should all defend him.”
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