Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of defense, speaks with reporters following a meeting with senators on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Donald Trump’s defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth is enduring the revival of his own scandal after attorney general pick Matt Gaetz withdrew his nomination amid similar allegations. 

On Wednesday night, the city attorney’s office of Monterey, Calif. released a 22-page police report which details a sexual assault allegation against Hegseth made by a 30-year-old conservative staffer. The woman claimed that in 2017, Hegseth physically blocked her from leaving a hotel room before taking her phone and sexually assaulting her while she attempted to refuse him. When she sought a rape kit four days later, which reportedly came back positive for semen, the woman also told a nurse that she suspected she may have been drugged. 

Hegseth said last week that the encounter was consensual and that he is innocent of wrongdoing because no charges were filed. Hegseth did pay the accuser an undisclosed amount of money in a settlement out of court. A non-disclosure agreement was also part of the settlement, and the anonymous accuser declined to be interviewed by CNN on Thursday without discussing with her attorney what she is allowed to say. 

Hegseth’s lawyer Timothy Parlatore told CNN on Thursday that the police found the allegations to be false. 

“This police report confirms what I’ve said all along, that the incident was fully investigated, and police found the allegations to be false, which is why no charges were filed,” Parlatore said. 

The report does not say that the police believe the allegation against Hegseth is false. After he met with Senate Republicans on Thursday morning, and received glowing reviews, Hegseth told the press that “as far as the media is concerned,” he was “completely cleared.” 

Hegseth is a Fox News host and U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2012, Hegseth sought the Republican nomination for Minnesota’s U.S. Senate election for the seat held by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D). Hegseth was unsuccessful and did not participate in the primary election, which was eventually won by Kurt Bills. 

Last week, the 44-year-old was picked by Trump to lead the Department of Defense, one of many controversial cabinet nominations made by the former and future president. The release of the police report may put Hegseth’s nomination in jeopardy, as only four Senate Republicans would need to break ranks with the rest of the party to block the nomination. 

Despite the police report’s release, Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told CNN that Hegseth is “a highly-respected Combat Veteran who will honorably serve our country when he is confirmed as the next Secretary of Defense, just like he honorably served our country on the battlefield in uniform.”

The most unorthodox Trump cabinet pick was former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who also met with members of the GOP on Wednesday night. Unlike Hegseth, Gaetz surprisingly announced his withdrawal on Thursday morning after a major push to release a House Ethics Committee report on his sexual assault allegations. The committee opened a probe on Gaetz after the Department of Justice dropped their sex trafficking investigation into the former Florida congressman. 

Although the bipartisan committee voted to keep the report private, many senators and congressmen on both sides of the aisle called for its release because of its possibly damning evidence. Reports have circled around allegations that  Gaetz had sex with possibly multiple underage girls, along with Venmo transactions showing he also paid them up to $10,000. 

Given Gaetz’ preexisting unpopularity with members of his own party, he may have seen no path for a nomination after meeting with his colleagues. He made a post on X on Thursday morning saying that “it is clear my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition” and that “There is no time for a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle.” 

Despite his words, Gaetz is responsible for sparking a weeks-long effort to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R) from his position, which eventually resulted in Rep. Mike Johnson (R) ascending as speaker.

Trump praised Gaetz’s efforts to secure the nomination before naming former Florida Attorney Pam Bondi as Gaetz’s replacement. 

Gaetz resigned from the current Congress after his nomination, likely in an effort to block the release of the Ethics report.  Gaetz announced on Friday that he will not return to Congress to seek his old seat, which will be filled via a special election.