Disclosures made in an affidavit from Defense Secretary-nominee Pete Hegseth's former sister-in-law have brought some doubts about his confirmation, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told Newsmax Wednesday.
"The disclosures yesterday, the affidavit from his former sister-in-law, raised even more serious questions about [Hegseth's] suitability for a job of this importance," Durbin told Newsmax's Kilmeny Duchardt in an exclusive interview.
He added that there are limits about whether Democrats can delay Hegseth's confirmation or if it can be stopped after the last-minute claims were received.
"At this point, there are limits to how much we can delay, but we are making sure that everyone in the Senate has an opportunity to read this affidavit and to reflect on what it means if this man is given this position of authority," Durbin said.
The affidavit, obtained by Senate Democrats, accuses Hegseth of having an alcohol problem and of being abusive to his former wife, Samantha Hegseth.
She has issued a statement to NBC News denying any physical violence in their marriage.
The Senate is poised to hold its final vote on Hegseth's nomination by the end of this week.
Hegseth's nomination cleared the Senate Armed Services Committee by a 14-13 party-line vote hours after President Donald Trump was sworn in on Monday, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., Tuesday filed a motion to end debate on Hegseth's nomination.
Thune, meanwhile, expressed frustration Tuesday night on the Senate floor that some of the confirmations of Trump's nominees could not be pushed forward, including for CIA director-nominee John Ratcliffe, noted Duchardt.
"[Thune's] the leader on the other side, and he decides what the package of votes will be," said Durbin, pointing out that the Senate's unanimous 99-0 vote to confirm Secretary of State Marco Rubio shows that Democrats are ready to support some nominees.
"We're prepared to support on a bipartisan basis the candidates who are ready to serve our nation under the new administration," the senator said. "But there are some that moving forward would be easy for [Thune] to confirm on the floor and others not so easy, so we've got to separate these up."
Durbin added that he has not made a final decision on whether he'll vote to confirm Pam Bondi, Trump's nominee for attorney general.
He said he is concerned about the response Bondi, a former attorney general from Florida, has made concerning Trump's pardons that were issued for those involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, protests at the Capitol.
"Ms. Bondi made it clear, as most witnesses have, that they are opposed to violence against police officers," said Durbin. "Yet many of the people who were given unconditional pardons by President Trump have been guilty of true violence against police officers there in the Capitol."
Duchardt noted that Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., has said that it is difficult to criticize the pardons considering former President Joe Biden's last-minute pardons of his family members, but Durbin said there is a "significant difference" between the actions taken by Biden and Trump.
"I would say there's a significant difference between the potential liability of a member of the family in the future and the actual liability of someone who's been convicted or even pled guilty to violence against police officers," he said. "I think those are different standards."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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