U.S. Senator Josh Hawley appeared to muddy the waters for Donald Trump’s embattled Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth, telling reporters that the Fox News co-host facing numerous allegations including possible sexual misconduct and alcohol abuse, has canceled his scheduled interview with the Missouri GOP lawmaker. Senator Hawley also repeatedly suggested he isn’t sure at this point what the President-elect’s intentions with Hegseth are anymore.

Speaking about Hegseth, Hawley told reporters Wednesday, “I don’t know where things stand at the moment,” “I was supposed to sit down with him tomorrow, but they canceled that meeting,” “it’s not 100% clear who [Trump] really wants as Secretary of Defense right now,” and, “I don’t know what the case is at this point.”

Hegseth spent the day on Capitol Hill while his mother sat down with Fox News to defend her son, and disavow the 2018 letter she wrote to him, saying: “On behalf of all the women (and I know it’s many) you have abused in some way, I say … get some help and take an honest look at yourself.”

READ MORE: Hegseth: Trump Told Me ‘I’m Behind You All the Way’ But Reports Suggest Otherwise

Hawley began by telling reporters, “I’ve been saying since he’s been nominated, let’s give him a shot. But listen, I don’t, I don’t know. I was supposed to sit down with him tomorrow, but they canceled that meeting,” Hawley told reporters Wednesday afternoon. “So I don’t, I don’t know where things stand at the moment.”

Asked if he thinks Hegseth will withdraw, Hawley continued to obfuscate.

“I don’t know. I — but listen, I just, the president, I give the president a lot of deference here. I’ve said I’ll support — folks, my presumption is, I’ll support whoever he wants, and thinks whoever is gonna be great for his cabinet.”

“I’m not, it’s not 100% clear who he really wants as Secretary of Defense right now.”

Asked if Hegseth’s nomination has become too much of a distraction, Hawley again did not rush to support the embattled nominee.

“Well, that’s for the president to decide,” Hawley continued, appearing to try to defer to Trump. “I’ve been saying this for days. I mean, I’m a broken record on this. My view is that if the president wants him to be secretary of defense, then people ought to give him a shot. And my presumption is that I would support him at the very least, let him have his confirmation hearing, let him take the oath, let him answer all of these questions.”

READ MORE: Pete Hegseth’s Mom Urges ‘Female Senators’ to Ignore Media Reports, Confirm Him as SecDef

“I’m sure there’ll be more. He’ll answer all and many, many more under oath, if he wants to, and if the president wants to, wants him to. But I don’t, I don’t know what the case is at this point, so.”

PBS NewsHour’s Lisa Desjardins also reported on a cryptic conversation Wednesday afternoon.

Referring to Hegseth’s meeting with Hawley being canceled, she wrote:

“A transition-related source told me Hegseth has to ‘be somewhere else’ now, a schedule change.

Florida?,I asked.

The source only said that the schedule change ‘came from a higher power’.”

Watch the video below or at this link. (Video starts at the 2:22 mark.)

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As justices on the U.S. Supreme Court were hearing arguments in the Biden administration’s challenge to a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming treatment for transgender minors, far-right influencer, anti-LGBTQ commentator and activist, and Daily Wire podcaster Matt Walsh was outside the Court attacking what he calls “trans ideology” — and calling for it to be “entirely erased from the earth.”

Walsh did not explain what he meant by “trans ideology,” but the LGBTQ organization GLAAD has an explainer on so-called “gender ideology.”

“Employed by prominent anti-LGBTQ accounts and similar to the trope ‘transgenderism,’ ‘gender ideology’ is a malicious rhetorical construct that falsely asserts that LGBTQ — notably trans — people are an ideological movement rather than an intrinsic identity,” GLAAD writes.

On Wednesday, Walsh declared, “Children have a right to be protected from all of those people over there who want to harm them and damage them and destroy them, and they will be.”

READ MORE: This Michigan Lawmaker Wants to ‘Make Gay Marriage Illegal Again’

He appeared to be referring to the transgender allies and activists outside the Supreme Court.

“They are gonna lose,” he proclaimed. “They are losing right now. We are not going to let them harm our children. This case is just the beginning of the fight. It is not the end. We are not gonna rest until every child is protected, until trans ideology is entirely erased from the earth. That’s what we’re fighting for, and we will not stop until we achieve it. So to the trans activists over there who are claiming, this is all about the rights of children, I say again: yes, you’re right, it is. They have a right to be protected, from you.”

Walsh also said outside the Court, “There’s no such thing as a ‘trans kid.’ That doesn’t exist. Those kids are not trans. They are confused, and their confusion has been exploited by quacks and abusers. They are abuse victims. They are not trans kids.”

Walsh has called for parents who are supportive of their transgender children to be “thrown in prison.”

Citing the ADL, GLAAD also notes, “’proponents of the phrase often use it to oppose school curricula that feature and/or celebrate LGBTQ+ history or experiences, falsely claiming that such materials promote the sexualization of minors and/or coerce children into identifying as members of the LGBTQ+ community.’ The Southern Poverty Law Center adds: ‘Anti-LGBTQ+ groups often employ the term to claim any kind of positive affirmation of trans young people is a nefarious method of creating or recruiting new trans kids.’ On Twitter/X, for example, far-right outlet The Daily Wire widely promoted a speech by anti-trans commentator Matt Walsh, who said in April 2023, ‘I truly see the fight against gender ideology as the last stand for Western civilization.’ Other extremist accounts have used the phrase as a dog whistle to spread animus against trans people. That same month, Gays Against Groomers posted across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter/X: ‘Gender ideology must be completely abolished and destroyed.'”

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Meanwhile, inside the Supreme Court, CNN reports the conservative majority justices appeared ready to let the state of Tennessee do whatever it wants on the issue.

“It seems to me that it’s something where we are extraordinary [sic] bereft of expertise,” Chief Justice John Roberts said, CNN reported.

“Why isn’t it best to leave it to the democratic process?” Justice Brett Kavanaugh asked.

But liberal Justice Elena Kagan disagreed.

“It’s a dodge to say that this is not based on sex,” Kagan said. “The medical purpose is utterly and entirely about sex.”

The Associated Press also reported the Supreme Court “seemed likely to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

Matt Walsh outside the Supreme Court: “This case is just the beginning of the fight. It is not the end. We are not gonna rest … until trans ideology is entirely erased from the earth. That’s what we’re fighting for, and we will not stop until we achieve it.” pic.twitter.com/HGUIKNs2D0

— Ari Drennen (@AriDrennen) December 4, 2024

READ MORE: Hegseth: Trump Told Me ‘I’m Behind You All the Way’ But Reports Suggest Otherwise

Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license

Fox News co-host Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s embattled nominee for U.S. Secretary of Defense, was back on Capitol Hill Wednesday to try to convince senators to support his confirmation, vowing to not withdraw despite numerous media reports alleging sexual misconduct, alcohol abuse, financial mismanagement, a possible Christian nationalism affinity — and a possible replacement.

Hegseth, walking through the halls of Congress Wednesday morning, was asked by CBS News congressional correspondent Nikole Killion (video below) if he has had any conversations with Trump about his rumored replacement, Florida governor Ron DeSantis.

“I spoke to the president-elect this morning,” Hegseth replied. “He said, ‘keep going, keep fighting. I’m behind you all the way.'”

“So you’re in this all the way?” Killion pressed.

READ MORE: ‘Standards Have Evolved’: Senator ‘Leaning Yes’ on Hegseth Despite Misconduct Allegations

“Why would I back down? I’ve always been a fighter. I’m here for the fighters. This is personal and passionate for me,” Hegseth insisted.

“So you’re not withdrawing your name from consideration, just to be clear?” Killion asked.

“I’m meeting all day with senators,” Hegseth, not directly answering her question, replied.

Hewseth’s mother spoke with her son’s colleagues in a Fox News interview Wednesday morning, urging “female Senators” to ignore the media reports and confirm Pete to lead the world’s most lethal military.

But despite the full-frontal blitz by Hegseth and his mother, and his claims that Trump is still behind him, the Trump transition team may not be.

The Wall Street Journal in an overnight exclusive reported Trump is considering Florida governor Ron DeSantis to replace Hegseth as even Republican senators and growing concerned over the “mounting allegations” about Hegseth.

CNN reports Hegseth’s nomination is “in trouble,” and the Trump transition team is apparently angered by Hegseth.

READ MORE: Trump Lining Up Billionaire Defense Investor and Megadonor to Be Number Two at Pentagon

“He has not been forthright with the Transition team staff and the President-elect and Vice President-elect,” a senior Trump transition source said of Hegseeth, CNN reported Tuesday night. “He has hurt a lot of people as a result. He didn’t disclose anything.”

“There are significant concerns more accusations are going to come out from his time at Fox News, about his behavior there, where he had an affair with his now-wife who was his executive producer,” the source also said.

Watch the video below or at this link.

HEGSETH to @NikolenDC

I spoke to the President elect this morning. He said keep going keep fighting. I’m behind you all the way.”

Q. So you are in this all the way?

“Why would I back down? I’ve always been a fighter. Im here for the fighters. This is personal & passionate… pic.twitter.com/HLFdfflES4

— Alan He (@alanhe) December 4, 2024

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Image via Reuters