Trump Pick Pete Hegseth Shoots Down Reporter on ‘Alcohol Use’ Question in Tense Hallway Exchange

Pete Hegseth — President-elect Donald Trump’s embattled nominee to run the Department of Defense — shot down a question from NBC News correspondent Garrett Haake on the subject of “alcohol use” Thursday.

Hegseth’s chances of being confirmed have been hampered by a series of scandalous stories about a rape allegation, a 2018 email from his mother in which she called him “an abuser of women,” a devastating whistleblower report, and allegations of excessive drinking, including on the job.

Wednesday and Thursday saw Hegseth make the rounds on Capitol Hill in a Trump-sanctioned bid to try and rally support for his nomination.

On Thursday’s edition of MSNBC’s José Díaz-Balart Reports, anchor José Díaz-Balart tossed to Ali Vitali for a report on how that’s going. Vitali introduced some hot-off-the-presses hallway video of Hegseth and Haake talking about Trump’s continued support for Hegseth’s nomination.

Things turned icy when Haake asked about the alcohol issue:

JOSÉ DÍAZ-BALART: We’re going back to Capitol Hill where Pete Hegseth, President-Elect Trump’s pick to be defense secretary, just spoke with NBC News. Let’s go right to NBC’s Ali Vitali. Ali, what did he have to say?

ALI VITALI: Jose this is an example of when the Hill has so much going on. The depth and breadth of our amazing reporting team here is really on display because we’re able to be in so many places at once.

And that’s exactly what you see with our colleague Garrett Haake here catching up with Pete Hegseth as he leaves yet another meeting here and another day of shuttling between senators’ offices.

Listen to what he said about where he’s at in this process. Watch.

GARRETT HAAKE: Mr. Hegseth, do you feel like you’re making progress in these meetings?

PETE HEGSETH: Great meetings and appreciate the process. Senators give great advice. And this see how the process works. It’s not going to be tried out here.

It’s going to be discussed inside the offices, how we rebuild our military, put the war fighters first. That’s what Donald Trump, President Trump has asked me to do. And that’s what we’ll continue to do.

GARRETT HAAKE: Are there any circumstances where you would withdraw from this process?

PETE HEGSETH: I’m here with the support of President Donald Trump. As long as he supports me, which he told me this morning, I’ll be here.

GARRETT HAAKE: And it’s come to our attention. You’ve been addressing these questions about alcohol use in these meetings. What are you telling senators about what you’d be like as secretary of defense on that issue?

PETE HEGSETH: That’s why I’m telling senators and not you.

ALI VITALI: Pretty classic way to end that exchange there, Jose.

But I think what Garrett was getting at with that last question is the idea of what some senators themselves have told us about what Hegseth is telling them in the room, which includes the idea, he says, that if he’s given the chance to serve as defense secretary, that he would not drink during his time in that role.

Watch above via MSNBC’s José Díaz-Balart Reports.