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Hawley Throws Hegseth Under the Bus: ‘Not 100% Clear Who Trump Really Wants Right Now’

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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.)

READ MORE: How Democrats and Republicans Look at Hunter Biden’s Pardon and One for J6ers

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Ethics Committee Reveals Latest Republican to Come Under Review: Report

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The House Ethics Committee has reportedly announced that U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is facing a review by the Office of Congressional Conduct.

The origin of the review was not been disclosed. Under committee rules, officials are prohibited from stating whether the matter constitutes a formal investigation or identifying its underlying cause. The Committee only stated that there is a “matter regarding Representative Nancy Mace.”

“The Committee notes that the mere fact of a referral or an extension, and the mandatory disclosure of such an extension and the name of the subject of the matter, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee,” the Ethics Committee statement reads. It was posted to social media by congressional journalist Jamie Dupree.

The statement also says the committee will “announce its course of action in this matter on or before March 2, 2026.”

Congresswoman Mace is currently running for governor of South Carolina.

Earlier this month Mace warned that Republicans may lose control of the House, saying they have not “done enough” and could “do a lot more” to implement President Donald Trump’s agenda, The Hill reported.

 

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Republican Vows to Block Trump’s Greenland Push

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A prominent Republican lawmaker is vowing to thwart any attempt by President Donald Trump to acquire Greenland through force or financial means.

Speaking from Copenhagen as part of a bipartisan delegation of U.S. congressional lawmakers, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), told reporters it is “an important message for the people of the Kingdom of Denmark to understand” that the United States has “three separate but equal branches” of government.

Reminding them that under the U.S. Constitution it is Congress that controls spending, Senator Murkowski, who has broken ranks and stood up to President Trump at times, said, “In Congress, we have tools at our disposal under our constitutional authority that speaks specifically to the power of the purse through appropriations.”

She noted also that “Congress has a role. Certainly, when it comes to spending authorities, the Congress has a role in basically helping to facilitate the message that comes from our constituents, to be reflected in whether it’s legislation or appropriations, or actions or measures, that can indicate, again, the will of the Congress.”

READ MORE: Trump Dangles Another Insurrection Act Threat for Minnesota

The “vast majority” of Americans do not support the acquisition of Greenland, Senator Murkowski added, noting that “some 75 percent will say we do not think that that is a good idea.”

“Greenland needs to be viewed as our ally, not as an asset,” Murkowski also told reporters.

Politico reported that U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) “also took part in the visit by House and Senate lawmakers,” and “said he would push ahead with legislation to curb Trump’s power to act unilaterally.”

He also denied President Trump’s claims that Greenland is necessary to be owned by the U.S. for national security reasons.

“Are there real, pressing threats to the security of Greenland from China and Russia?” Coons said. “No, not today.”

READ MORE: With Shutdown Looming and Crises Growing Trump Heads Off for Long Mar-a-Lago Weekend

 

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Trump Dangles Another Insurrection Act Threat for Minnesota

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Just one day after threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota, which would allow him to unleash domestic military forces onto American streets, President Donald Trump once again on Friday hinted he would do so while suggesting he may be “forced” to take action.

Trump targeted Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats, claiming they “don’t know what to do” after he deployed roughly 3,000 federal troops to the city.

“In Minnesota,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “the Troublemakers, Agitators, and Insurrectionists are, in many cases, highly paid professionals.”

“The Governor and Mayor don’t know what to do, they have totally lost control, and our currently being rendered, USELESS! If, and when, I am forced to act, it will be solved, QUICKLY and EFFECTIVELY!”

The Guardian labeled Trump’s claims that protesters are paid as baseless.

Attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick wrote: “Note that the Trump admin hasn’t yet been able to produce evidence of a SINGLE ‘paid protestor.’ They’ve had total control of the FBI and the DOJ and ICE HSI and yet despite all of that, they can’t even find ONE person who they can accuse of being paid to protest.”

Separately, The Steady State, a group of over 365 former national security officials, while not referring to Trump’s remarks from Friday morning, noted that the Insurrection Act is “an extraordinary power meant for true emergencies, not a shield for unconstitutional policing. Using it to silence dissent or justify unlawful paramilitary activity at the hand of ICE undermines the rule of law.”

READ MORE: With Shutdown Looming and Crises Growing Trump Heads Off for Long Mar-a-Lago Weekend

 

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