Official Senate confirmation records

Trump's Defense Nominee Hegseth Called 'Abuser of Women' by Mother in Leaked Email

Nov 30, 2024, 03:18 AM

Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Defense, faced new scrutiny after a 2018 email from his mother, Penelope Hegseth, surfaced in which she accused him of mistreating women for years. In the email, obtained by The New York Times, Mrs. Hegseth referred to her son as "an abuser of women" and wrote, "I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man and have been for years." She sent the email amid his contentious divorce from his second wife, Samantha Hegseth, mother of three of his children. Reports have also surfaced that Hegseth paid a woman an undisclosed sum after being accused of sexual assault and that he has cheated on two of his wives. On Friday, Mrs. Hegseth expressed regret over the email, telling the Times that she sent it "in anger, with emotion" and had apologized to her son. The revelations come as the Senate considers Hegseth's nomination to lead the Pentagon.