When Pete Hegseth’s nomination for Secretary of Defense came down to the wire, it was almost inevitable that a last-minute attempt to derail him would materialize. It’s a predictable pattern whenever a high-profile conservative nominee is up for confirmation—suddenly, from the political ether, allegations appear, often dramatic, frequently unsubstantiated, and almost always arriving just in time to cast doubt before a critical vote.
This time, the hit came from an affidavit submitted by Hegseth’s former sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, who alleged that his behavior had made his second wife fear for her safety. The timing? Convenient. The sourcing? Suspect. The credibility? Questionable at best. Yet, as expected, Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, seized on the accusations, seeking any leverage they could to sink the nomination.
But here’s the problem: the allegations didn’t hold up to even the most basic scrutiny. Hegseth’s ex-wife, the very person at the center of the claim, outright denied that the events described ever happened.
Furthermore, it was revealed that Danielle Hegseth wasn’t even present for some of the incidents she alleged. The entire effort unraveled, exposed as yet another politically motivated smear that lacked the evidence to change the course of the confirmation.
Re @SenThomTillis: He is NOT the bad guy here. Most likely scenario is ex-wife of Hegseth's brother was pushing story & Tillis said put it in writing & sign it & then we'll take it seriously. He did & then voted for Hegseth concluding it was unsupported. 1/ https://t.co/fq1qIs9rhV
— Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) January 28, 2025
Still, Danielle Hegseth lamented the outcome, claiming that her statement should have been enough to sway votes and that rejecting her claims would discourage real victims from coming forward. It was a bizarre defense—suggesting that the failure of a baseless accusation to achieve its intended political effect would somehow silence genuine cases of abuse.
Then came the revelation from The Wall Street Journal: it was Senator Thom Tillis who had engaged with Danielle Hegseth, giving her the impression that her statement could tip the scales against the nominee.
Tillis later confirmed that he had done his due diligence, speaking with multiple sources and seeking firsthand corroboration of the claims—none of which materialized. In the end, he voted to confirm Hegseth, indicating that the facts simply did not support the accusations.
Now, it’s easy to assume that Tillis, a known moderate and occasional GOP wild card, was looking for a reason to vote against Hegseth. But if that were the case, he had every opportunity to do so. As the decisive 50th vote, he held considerable power. Yet even he found the allegations too flimsy to justify opposition. That speaks volumes.