Two Trump Cabinet nominees embroiled in sex controversies

Two of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s cardinal nominations – Fox News big Pete Hegseth for defence caput and erstwhile lawmaker Matt Gaetz arsenic lawyer wide -- person go embroiled successful enactment controversies that could endanger their Senate confirmations to service successful Trump’s Cabinet.

Hegseth, 44, paid an undisclosed magnitude to a pistillate who accused him of intersexual battle successful 2017 to avert the menace of what helium viewed arsenic a baseless assertion becoming public, his lawyer, Tim Parlatore, told U.S. quality media this weekend.

Gaetz, 42, resigned abruptly past week from the House of Representatives adjacent the extremity of his 4th two-year term, conscionable days earlier the House Ethics Committee was nearing decision of an probe into whether helium had had enactment with a 17-year-old miss and engaged successful illicit cause use. Some lawmakers person described Gaetz showing nude cellphone pictures of his intersexual conquests successful the House chamber.

Gaetz has denied the allegations and national authorities had earlier this twelvemonth decided not to bring charges.

Hegseth’s lawyer, Parlatore, described Hegseth’s edifice intersexual brushwood with the pistillate aft a Republican women’s lawsuit successful Monterey, California, successful 2017 arsenic consensual. Local police, aft an investigation, did not record immoderate charges.

Parlatore told The Washington Post that Hegseth settled the woman’s assertion a fewer years aboriginal due to the fact that helium believed the filing of her threatened suit “would effect successful his contiguous termination from Fox,” wherever helium was the fashionable big of a play speech show.

"He was falsely accused, and my presumption is that helium was the unfortunate of blackmail," Parlatore told The Associated Press, calling it a lawsuit of "successful extortion." The woman’s sanction has not been made public, and U.S. quality media bash not usually disclose the names of alleged intersexual battle victims without their consent.

Parlatore’s statements to quality outlets came aft a pistillate who said she is simply a person of the accuser sent a elaborate memo to the Trump modulation respective days agone detailing the Hegseth incidental with his accuser. The accuser alleged that Hegseth had raped her aft drinking astatine a edifice bar.

Trump truthful acold has stood by Hegseth, an unconventional enactment arsenic the Pentagon chief.

Some Democratic and Republican lawmakers person raised concerns astir Hegseth’s deficiency of a managerial background, either astatine the Defense Department oregon astatine a business. The Pentagon main would oversee much than 2 cardinal U.S. troops and a civilian enactment unit of astir 800,000 people.

In addition, immoderate critics person raised concerns astir a ample tattoo connected Hegseth’s precocious close chest, which helium characterizes arsenic a Christian symbol, a “Jerusalem cross,” but what his critics accidental is simply a achromatic nationalist symbol. Hegseth told 1 interviewer that helium was removed by superiors from a National Guard item handling information for President Joe Biden’s inauguration successful 2021 for fearfulness that helium was “an extremist” due to the fact that of the tattoo.

When the allegations against Hegseth archetypal emerged, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung contended that Hegseth “has vigorously denied immoderate and each accusations. We look guardant to his confirmation arsenic United States Secretary of Defense truthful helium tin get started connected Day One to Make America Safe and Great Again.”

Even though voters successful his Florida territory had conscionable reelected him to a 5th term, Gaetz resigned from his bureau Wednesday, ending the investigation.

Several U.S. senators, Republicans and Democrats alike, are seeking entree to the House Ethics Committee findings successful the Gaetz probe arsenic they transportation retired their constitutionally mandated “advice and consent” relation successful reviewing Cabinet nominees made by an incoming president.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, the person of the constrictive Republican bulk successful the chamber, is balking astatine the merchandise of what helium told CNN’s “State of the Union” amusement was a study successful “rough draught form.”

Johnson contended that nary morals study should beryllium made nationalist due to the fact that Gaetz is nary longer a subordinate of Congress, though determination person been instances wherever that has occurred successful the past.

He said senators reviewing the Gaetz information arsenic the country’s apical instrumentality enforcement authoritative volition “have a vigorous reappraisal and vetting process” but that they did not request to spot the House Ethics Committee’s report. Some senators person suggested they could determination to subpoena it if it is not turned implicit to them voluntarily.

Trump has besides stood by Gaetz’s nomination, but the president-elect besides has sought – with small occurrence truthful acold – to get the Senate, successful Republican power travel January erstwhile helium takes office, to hold to recess astatine times truthful helium tin sanction and instal his Cabinet members without the request for contentious and time-consuming confirmation hearings.