World
November 17, 2024 17:10
washington - Controversial appointments of Matt Gaetz and Pete Hegseth to Trump's new cabinet face backlash due to allegations of sexual misconduct.
Dark clouds are gathering over two controversial cabinet nominees in Donald Trump's new administration. The appointment of the proposed Attorney General Matt Gaetz and new Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth is in jeopardy after new revelations of sexual misconduct.
More than half of Republican senators now consider 42-year-old Gaetz's nomination hopeless, according to NBC News. The Senate must approve the nomination of candidate ministers by President-elect Trump after a hearing with a majority. Republicans hold 53 out of 100 seats.
Gaetz has been surrounded by controversies, particularly for an alleged sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl while serving as a congressman in 2017. Despite no prosecution being brought after a year of investigation, the House of Representatives Ethics Committee took up the case. A recently completed report has not yet been released as Gaetz resigned from his House seat immediately after his nomination by Trump. Republican senators are now demanding the release of the report, while Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson is trying to prevent it.
A lawyer for the then-minor teenager stated on social media that she 'was a high school student and there were witnesses.' Another lawyer revealed on Friday that his client saw Gaetz having sex with a minor at a party in Orlando in 2017. The woman has been interviewed by the Ethics Committee.
Gaetz denies the accusations. A former co-defendant told authorities they believed the girl, who traveled with Gaetz, was nineteen years old. A spokesman for Trump expressed confidence that Gaetz will pass the Senate hearing. The prospective minister must clean up the department, which Republicans claim has been turned into a political weapon by Democrats.
The US President-elect is gearing up for his first tough battle in Washington. Interestingly, this will be with his own Republican party in the Senate, not just because of Gaetz. Proposed Defense Secretary Hegseth is also under fire for alleged sexual abuse.
Fox News presenter Hegseth, 44, reportedly reached a nondisclosure agreement with a woman who accused him of raping her in a hotel in Monterey in 2020. Hegseth was at the hotel to speak at a Republican women's event.
Afterward, Hegseth allegedly became intoxicated at the hotel bar. The then 30-year-old woman was a conference staffer. Witnesses reportedly saw the pair arm in arm and laughing as they left for his room. Hegseth claimed the sex was consensual, but the woman panicked afterward as she was staying in the hotel with her husband and young children and had been gone for hours. The abuse report was allegedly to cover up her adultery. The woman claimed to have a memory gap of several hours afterward.
Although no charges were filed against Hegseth after a police investigation, a lawyer contacted the woman two years later. Hegseth, now a Fox News host, allegedly feared for his career during the height of the MeToo movement and decided to reach a settlement. The proposed minister's lawyer claims he felt extorted 'in a lie the complainant clung to in order to save her marriage.' The amount paid to silence the woman is unknown.
The case is now surfacing after a detailed account of the alleged abuse was sent to Trump's transition team by a woman claiming to be a friend of the alleged victim. Trump, while surprised by the revelation, is currently standing by Hegseth's nomination.