Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) tiptoed closer to supporting Defense Secretary Nominee Pete Hegseth after a meeting together on Monday.
After the meeting, Graham — who previously expressed doubts about Hegseth — praised him in a post on X on Monday.
He posted:
I had a very positive, thorough and candid meeting with Pete Hegseth about his nomination to be the next Secretary of Defense. I appreciated how forthright and forthcoming he was.
I have known Pete for many years, and I am familiar with his service in Afghanistan, as I was doing my reserve duty at the same time. Everyone in his unit in Afghanistan – including our Afghan partners – had nothing but great things to say about Pete. He is smart, passionate, and loves our men and women in uniform and our country.
Graham, who previously called anonymous allegations against Hegseth “very disturbing,” said Monday that the committee should “only” consider those allegations if they are supported by testimony to Congress.
He said in his post:
The accusations being made regarding financial management of veterans service organizations and personal misconduct should only be considered by the committee if they are supported by testimony before Congress – not anonymous sources.
He also seemed to defend his vote for Biden Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, saying, “When it comes to supporting presidential cabinet nominees, I have a record of being supportive regardless of party because I think every president deserves the right to pick their team.”
The defense came after Donald Trump Jr. posted a vote count for Austin on X last week, which showing which Republican senators supported him, including Graham.
Graham, who has come under fire from Hegseth supporters, said the confirmation process “should allow for challenging questions,” but said his hearing should “not be allowed to become a three-ring circus.”
“The confirmation process for all nominees does and should allow for challenging questions, and I expect that to be the case here. However, I told Pete that he will be given the opportunity to defend himself and that his confirmation hearing should not be allowed to become a three-ring circus,” he posted.
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