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For now, Donald Trump<\/strong> is reportedly<\/a> standing by Pete Hegseth,<\/strong> his embattled pick for defense secretary, but some Trump transition officials are beginning to doubt whether the Fox News host can survive the controversy. According to two Republicans close to Trump, the transition team is quietly preparing a list of alternative defense secretary candidates should Trump abandon Hegseth. \u201cIt\u2019s becoming a real possibility,\u201d one of the sources says. The second source tells me that transition members are frustrated that Hegseth failed to disclose he had paid a financial settlement to a woman who alleged he raped her at a Republican women\u2019s event in 2017. \u201cPeople are upset about the distraction. The general feeling is Pete hasn\u2019t been honest,\u201d the second source says. (Hegseth, through his attorney Timothy Parlatore,<\/strong> strenuously denies his accuser\u2019s allegation.)<\/p>\n Hegseth, a thrice-married, 44-year-old Army veteran turned conservative media personality, faces a difficult confirmation battle. He has a long back catalogue of extreme statements<\/a>: He\u2019s expressed opposition<\/a> to women serving in combat roles and labeled<\/a> the political left \u201cdomestic enemies.\u201d On Thursday, I reported<\/a> that Trump\u2019s incoming chief of staff, Susie Wiles,<\/strong> was made aware of an allegation that Hegseth committed sexual misconduct with a woman at a Republican women\u2019s event in Monterey, California, about seven years ago (The Monterey Police Department confirmed<\/a> it had investigated the alleged sexual assault and that the woman had reported suffering \u201ccontusions to right thigh.\u201d No charges were filed).<\/p>\n Over the next several days, journalists uncovered other troubling information about Hegseth. The Washington Post<\/em> and The New York Times<\/em> reported<\/a> that<\/a> a friend of the alleged victim sent the transition team a memo that detailed what she said transpired at the Hyatt Regency in Monterey. Hegseth\u2019s lawyer told Breitbart News<\/a> that the alleged victim\u2019s settlement contained confidentiality agreements that were breached when the allegation became public.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Mother Jones<\/em> has reported<\/a> that Hegseth has ties to a controversial group of Christian nationalists called<\/a> the TheoBros. The group\u2019s unofficial leader, an Idaho pastor named Doug Wilson,<\/strong> said in an interview<\/a> last month that he believes women should not have the right to vote; Hegseth has previously said<\/a> he studied Wilson\u2019s book My Life for Yours<\/em>. Judd Legum,<\/strong> who writes the \u201cPopular Information\u201d substack, reported<\/a> Monday that Hegseth published a column in college claiming that having sex with an unconcious woman is not rape because the woman experiences \u201cno duress.\u201d (Hegseth\u2019s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the column or his alleged ties to the TheoBros.)<\/p>\n Such issues would undoubtedly be explored in confirmation hearings, and Trump already faces the daunting task<\/a> of trying to get Matt Gaetz<\/strong> confirmed as attorney general (that is, if Gaetz isn\u2019t pushed through<\/a> as a recess appointment). It was revealed<\/a> this past week that a woman testified before the House Ethics Committee that she witnessed Gaetz having sex a minor; she and a second woman also claim that Gaetz paid them for sex, according to a lawyer<\/a> representing them. Gaetz has previously denied the allegations against him.<\/p>\n Trump spokesman Steven Cheung<\/strong> did not immediately respond Tuesday for comment, but last week told Vanity Fair<\/em><\/a> that \u201cHegseth has vigorously denied any and all accusations, and no charges were filed,\u201d and that the Trump team looked \u201cforward to his confirmation as United States secretary of defense.\u201d<\/p>\n One prominent Republican close to the transition says the leaks are evidence that some Trumpworld insiders are alarmed by Hegseth\u2019s lack of qualifications and are trying to make sure he doesn\u2019t become defense secretary. \u201cThere are Republicans with a background in the Defense Department who are privately saying, \u2018I\u2019m not working for this guy,\u2019\u201d the source says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n