Pete Hegseth vows he won't drink 'a drop of alcohol' if confirmed as defense secretary

WASHINGTON ― Pete Hegseth said Wednesday he won't drink "a drop of alcohol" if confirmed to lead the Pentagon, vowing to fight through a tumultuous nomination process amid allegations of sexual assault and alcohol abuse.

The commitment from President-elect Donald Trump's pick for defense secretary follows a story published by the New Yorker that cited a whistleblower report alleging Hegseth was repeatedly intoxicated in his previous role as president of the nonprofit Concerned Veterans for America, even to the point of having to be carried out of the group's events.

Hegseth has denied the report.

In an interview with Megyn Kelly on her SiriusXM show, Hegseth ? a former Fox News host and Army veteran ? referenced "general order number 1," which prohibits military personnel from consuming alcohol during deployment.

"That's how I view this role as Secretary of Defense is, I'm not going to have a drink, at all. And it's not hard for me because it's not a problem for me," Hegseth said.

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Hegseth added that he needs to make sure senators, U.S. troops, Trump and others know "when you call me 24/7, you're getting fully dialed-in Pete, just like you always did in Iraq and Afghanistan."

"So this is the biggest deployment of my life, and there won't be a drop of alcohol on my lips while I'm doing it," he said.

The New Yorker story cited three anonymous sources saying Hegseth stepped down from his leadership position at Concerned Veterans for America, which he held from 2013 to 2016, because of concerns about his mismanagement and alcohol use on the job. The publication also reported Hegseth was forced to leave a prior leadership post at the nonprofit Veterans for Freedom after the organization ran up substantial debt.

The whistleblower report included a complaint that Hegseth was “totally sloshed” at a 2014 event in Virginia Beach and needed to be carried to his room because “he was so intoxicated.” It cited another instance at a Louisiana strip club in 2015 in which a drunk Hegseth allegedly had to be restrained from joining the dancers on the stage.

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Hegseth denied the episodes happened, insisting to Kelly that he didn't even visit this club with his co-workers.

"If they're making up an instance of something where I didn't even attend, how can you believe a single other thing that any of these people are saying in any instance, to include being carried up to my room?" Hegseth said.

Hegseth faces an uphill Senate confirmation after revelations he was accused of sexual assault ? which he denies and for which he has never faced charges. Nevertheless, Hegseth vowed to push forward.

"I spoke to the president-elect this morning. He said: 'Keep going, keep fighting. I’m behind you all the way,'" Hegseth told reporters Wednesday. "Why would I back down? I’ve always been a fighter. I'm here for the war fighters."

Hegseth spent the day at the Capitol seeking to shore up support from Republican senators, while his mother, Penelope Hegseth, made an appeal for her son on Fox News.

"Pete is a new person. He's redeemed, forgiven, changed," Penelope Hegseth said, addressing her own email she sent to her son in 2018 that said Hegseth was an “abuser of women” and that she has “no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego."

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Penelope Hegseth said she wrote the email out of “haste” and with “deep emotions.” She explained that her son had been going through a contentious divorce with his second wife at the time she wrote it.

More: Pete Hegseth controversy explained: What to know amid backlash to Trump's Defense pick

Although Trump has so far remained behind Hegseth publicly as his nominee for defense secretary, a source close to the Trump transition said the president-elect is considering replacing him with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, one of Trump's 2024 Republican primary opponents.

Contributing: Zac Anderson, Sudiksha Kochi. Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hegseth vows he won't drink alcohol if he serves as defense secretary