House Republican Shrugs Off Pete Hegseth’s ‘Indiscretions’: ‘I Hope He Holds The Line’

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) showed his support for President-elect Donald Trump’s embattled defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth despite what he called his “indiscretions” on Friday.

“You know, look, we’ve all had some indiscretions in our past and things like that, every human has. But good grief,” said Roy in an interview with Charlie Kirk on the right-wing Real America’s Voice.

He continued, “Pete Hegseth, you know, he’s got the support of so many people and he represents somebody who would take on the defense establishment. And we need that, desperately need that.”

His remarks come as the former Fox News host battles mounting criticism amid allegations of sexual misconduct, excessive alcohol use and financial mismanagement of veteran advocacy nonprofits that he ran.

Trump — who has reportedly considered naming other candidates including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to replace Hegseth — took to his Truth Social platform on Friday to declare that the former Fox News host was a “WINNER,” adding that “there is nothing that can be done to change that.”

The president-elect, in a clip from an interview with “Meet the Press” that’s set to air on Sunday, told host Kristen Welker that he’s “really” confident that the Senate will confirm Hegseth for the DOD job.

“He’s a very smart guy. I’ve known him through Fox but I’ve known him for a long time. And he’s basically a military guy. Every time I talk to him, all he wants to talk about is the military. He’s a military guy,” Trump said.

On Friday, Roy claimed that Hegseth is “under fire” in the Senate due to “squishy senators who have been against everything” that Republicans want to do.

“And so I hope he holds the line all the way through. I’m defending him and we should all defend him,” he said.