Pete Hegseth, Trump’s Pentagon pick, appears to be gaining GOP support

President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks were back on Capitol Hill Tuesday in an effort to shore up support from Republican senators, including Pete Hegseth, his embattled pick for defense secretary.

Hegseth faced significant headwinds last week after new allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual improprieties and other disqualifying behavior were reported by the New Yorkers. ABC News has not independently confirmed the magazine’s report, and Hegseth has denied many of the accusations.

But he may be regaining ground. On Monday, a key Republican senator appeared to soften his opinion of Hegseth.

Sen. Joni Ernst, a member of the Armed Services Committee and, like Hegseth, a veteran, previously said she was not ready to support Hegseth. But after their second meeting Monday, she said she would “support him through this process,” without saying whether she would ultimately vote to confirm him.

Hegseth said Tuesday he would not speak for Ernst, but “I appreciate the time… incredible conversation, foreign affairs, combat veteran, I appreciated all his insight,” he said. -he declared while moving between meetings in the Hart Senate Office Building.

Political pressure has intensified on Republican lawmakers to support Trump’s choice over the Pentagon, as a conservative group linked to Trump ally Elon Musk spends half a million dollars on a new advertisement calling for Hegseth’s confirmation. An ad urging viewers to call their senator and urge them to support Hegseth will air on national television, but will also be targeted online in Ernst’s home state of Iowa.

ABC reported last week that Trump was not calling senators about Hegseth, as he did for Matt Gaetz, his first choice for attorney general. But since then, the president-elect has publicly supported Hegseth twice, once in a social media post and then in an interview with NBC that aired Sunday. Trump told “Meet the Press” that he still has confidence in Hegseth and that “he will do well.”

Then on Tuesday, Team Trump released a trendy video for Hegseth who rallied friendly GOP senators congratulating him.

“Pete Hegseth is an exceptionally qualified, highly educated and tough patriot who not only served this country courageously, but also dedicated his life to defending our troops and veterans,” Trump transition spokeswoman said- Vance, Karoline Leavitt, in a press release. . “Mr. Hegseth’s extensive military experience, combined with his unwavering commitment to restoring greatness to the Pentagon and our armed forces, will advance President Trump’s vision of returning meritocracy, accountability and effectiveness to the military American.”

Several Republican senators said Tuesday they see a positive turnaround for Hegseth.

“Right now, he’s in pretty good shape. I think he’s very intelligent,” Sen. Lindsey Graham said after last week calling the reports about Hegseth “very disturbing.”

“So the accusations of mishandling money and non-consensual behavior. If they come forward, I will listen to those accusations, but they have to be credible and they have to be presented in a way that Pete can refute. So, he’s a lot better this week than last week,” Graham said.

Sen. John Cornyn, a key member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters after their meeting that he would support Hegseth upon confirmation.

“I will support Pete Hegseth, as I always say, barring any unforeseen circumstances. But I have known him for a long time. I have been pleased with his answers and I think this is going to be a difficult process for him and his family and some of them. between them will be extremely unfair, but I respect his willingness to give up a nice and comfortable job at Fox in order to serve the nation and the military to which he devoted so much of his life,” Cornyn said.

Hegseth had a high-stakes meeting Tuesday afternoon with Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, another Republican seen as potentially opposing his confirmation.

Asked by Mary Bruce, ABC News’ chief White House correspondent, if she had learned anything that influenced her, Murkowski replied: “I had a good exchange with Mr. Hegseth.”

Then, when asked by reporters if she would support Hegseth’s nomination, she replied: “I had a good exchange and we’ll see where the process leads.” »

She continued: “He’s probably going to visit at least half of the Senate. He has a process that will involve a complete oversight of the administration.”

Hegseth told reporters: “I appreciate it very much. It was a wonderful meeting and a wonderful discussion.”

ABC News previously reported that Trump’s team was focused on determining where Republican senators stand, given that they could decide his fate given the party’s slim three-seat majority in the new Congress. Hegseth is also expected to meet with Sen. Susan Collins on Wednesday.

Hegseth agreed to an FBI background check, which many Republican senators have said they want to participate in the vetting process. He also appears to be trying to clean up his past comments about women in the military.

Hegseth previously said women should not serve in combat roles. During an interview on Fox News on Monday, Hegseth said he wanted to “clarify” his position, without explicitly reversing his position.

“I also want to have an opportunity here to clarify comments that have been misconstrued that I do not support women in the military,” he said. “Some of our greatest warriors, our best warriors, are women who serve, raise their right hands to defend this country and love our nation, want to defend this flag and do so every day.”

Among Trump’s other picks on the Hill Tuesday were Kash Patel, the president-elect’s pick for FBI director, and Tulsi Gabbard, his pick for director of national intelligence.

Patel met with Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who later expressed his support and told reporters he felt comfortable voting for him.

“If you want to clean up the FBI and focus it on its mission instead of politics, refocus it on putting America first and doing its job, Kash is the perfect person to do that,” Mullin said.

ABC News’ Benjamin Siegel and Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.