CNN’s Scott Jennings on Thursday turned down the idea that the last-minute report on secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth could have an impact on his confirmation vote, comparing the new information to “a little like a smear job.”
CNN released a report Thursday evening, based on documents it obtained, alleging Hegseth paid $50,000 to a woman who claimed he sexually assaulted her as part of a confidentiality agreement. On “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer,” the CNN host asked Jennings if he thought the report would affect Hegseth’s confirmation vote, which is scheduled for Friday.
“I don’t think the new information is going to change the calculation of people who’ve already, I think, made up their mind on what to do or are pretty far down the road, truthfully. I don’t think they were waiting for some other piece of information like this,” Jennings said. “I think it’s going to be close. I do expect him to be confirmed. Obviously he’s going to lose a couple of Republicans, but it feels like he is on the way to being confirmed.”
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“We’ll know in the next 30 hours or so, but, to answer your question, Wolf, I don’t expect this new information to matter. Frankly to a lot of Republicans, given the way the Democrats have conducted themselves and this last-minute information, it feels a little like a smear job,” Jennings added. “And they’re getting sort of Kavanaugh vibes off of it, and I think that’s emboldening Republicans to stick with Hegseth, if anything.”
Following Trump’s 2018 nomination of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Democratic lawmakers attempted to block his confirmation, portraying him as partisan and using sexual assault allegations that surfaced after his nomination to undermine his bid.
Similarly, after Hegseth’s nomination in November, reports of a sexual assault allegation and claims of alcohol abuse emerged. In a December interview with SiriusXM’s Megyn Kelly, Hegseth denied the allegations, agreeing with Kelly that he had felt “Kavanaugh’d” throughout the process.
“I had a member, not 45 minutes ago, look me in the eye in private, just he and I, and say, ‘That’s what they’re trying to do to you,’” Hegseth told Kelly. “‘That’s their playbook. Get ready for more, and they’re gonna make it up, just like they have so far. All anonymous, all innuendo, all rumor, nothing sourced, no verification and they’re just gonna keep doing it, because you’re a threat to them. You’re a threat to their system.’”
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/CNN/”The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer”)
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