GOP Senator Claims Pete Hegseth Told Him US Troops Considering Leaving Decided to Stay Because Trump Picked Him to Run DOD

Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) told ABC News Sunday morning that Pete Hegseth should be confirmed as Secretary of Defense because the former Fox News host conveyed to him that a number of US service members said his nomination had inspired them to remain in the military.

Hagerty argued the anecdote was proof that Hegseth running the military would make forces combat-ready and that a 2017 sexual assault allegation against the 44-year-old was irrelevant.

On ABC’s This Week, anchor Jonathan Karl asked the Tennesse Republican about the California sex assault case, which was never tried and which Hegseth has denied through an attorney.

Karl asked, “You know, my understanding is Donald Trump didn’t even know about those allegations until after he named him, is that your understanding?” Hagerty replied:

Jon, all these are, as you said, are allegations. It’s amazing how this comes out. Pete is a very talented individual. I talked with him earlier this week. He told me, Jon, about how many people had written to him and said, look, I was thinking about getting out. You know, we have a huge recruitment problem, a huge retention problem in the military.

I was thinking about getting out. But now that you’ve come to lead us, Pete, I’m going to stay in. That’s the type of inspirational leader we need to see. Don’t let these allegations distract us. What we need is real significant change. The Pentagon has been more focused on pronouns than they have lethality in the past four years. We need to get back to business. And I think Pete is just the person to do it.

You can read the full police report about the sexual assault allegation against Hegseth here.

Watch above via ABC News.