Anthony Scaramucci argued in a new interview that President-elect Trump’s choice of ex-Fox News host Pete Hegseth as Defense secretary is as “bad” as his first pick for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).
“I think this is as bad as Gaetz,” Scaramucci, who served briefly as White House communications director during Trump’s first term, said late Thursday on CNN’s “AC360.”
“I think this is less than 50 percent that he gets through,” Scaramucci added, referring to Hegseth.
“And I think the Republicans are taking a tack in the Senate that’s very different than the Trump transition team thought they would. Or frankly, people like us here speaking about it.”
Scaramucci, a vocal Trump critic, said he had a “good relationship “ with Hegseth. He made the comparison between Trump’s two controversial choices when discussing the sexual assault allegations against Hegseth made in 2017 by a woman who was an organizer at the California Federation of Republican Women event. Hegseth, who was an infantry officer in the Army National Guard, has denied the allegations and he was not charged.
A Trump transition team spokesperson said that a police report released this week following a public records request shows “the incident was fully investigated, and no charges were filed because police found the allegations to be false.”
Scaramucci’s mention of Gaetz came shortly after the Floridian withdrew his nomination to be the country’s top law enforcement official.
Gaetz, who was previously investigated by the Department of Justice (DOJ) as part of a broader sex trafficking probe, including allegations involving an underage woman, said his “confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”
The department ultimately decided not to pursue charges, and Gaetz has strongly denied any wrongdoing.
Hours after Gaetz withdrew from consideration, Trump selected former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi to lead the DOJ.
While on CNN, Scaramucci, a former investment banker, said that Republicans serving in Washington are “ready” for Trump and could eventually “push back” against him if he is a “lame duck.”
“I think the Republicans have shape-shifted a little bit here and are ready for Donald Trump. Also remember, if Donald Trump is a lame duck, he‘s only got one more credible election ahead. And that‘s the midterms. And I think they‘re going to push back,” he said.
