Hegseth's mother says she regrets 2018 email — asks women senators to support him for defense secretary

The mother of Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to head the Department of Defense, said she regrets sending a 2018 email to her son accusing him of mistreating women.

She is now urging women senators to support Hegseth in his embattled confirmation fight.

Penelope Hegseth said in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday that her son is “redeemed, forgiven, changed” in the seven years since she wrote an email recently published by the New York Times in which she said there are “many” women whom he has “abused in some way” and said her son is the right person to lead the Pentagon under the incoming Trump administration.

She explained her decision to write the email by saying she wrote it “as a parent” and with “deep emotions” amid her son’s divorce, and said she wrote an apology email to her son later that same day.

“I’m sure many of you across the country understand how difficult divorce is on a family. There’s emotions. We say things, and– I wrote that in haste. I wrote that with deep emotions. I wrote that as a parent,” Penelope Hegseth said. “Pete and I are both very passionate people. I wrote that out of love, and about two hours later, I retracted it with an apology email.”

“I don’t believe any of that is true, any of it. And I’m here, I wouldn’t be sitting on this– in this chair today, if I did believe that about my son,” she added.

Penelope Hegseth denied that her son mistreats women and resisted delving into the specific accusations she made in her 2018 email, saying that he “doesn’t misuse women.”

“He’s been through some difficult things. I’m not going to list them by name, but I would just say that some of those, some of those attachments or descriptions, are just not true, especially anymore,” she said.

At multiple times in the interview, Penelope Hegseth encouraged female senators to ignore the accusations about her son’s treatment of women as he faces a tough confirmation battle. Hegseth is expected to meet with several Republican senators on Capitol Hill today, including Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst.

“I just hope people will– will get to know who Pete is today, especially our dear female senators, that you would listen to him, listen with your heart to the truth of Pete,” she added.