4 Trump administration picks have sexual misconduct allegations in their past

Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Elon Musk are all in line to serve as top government leaders.

All have faced varying degrees of sexual misconduct allegations. 

The president’s picks to carry out his agenda reflect an incoming administration hostile to the norms of the “Me Too” movement. Behavior that might have gotten a person fired or canceled (or not nominated to a cabinet position) over the last several years, appears to be less problematic in the Trump 2.0 era. 

To be clear: three of the men — Gaetz, Hegseth and Musk — have consistently denied the allegations against them. 

Gaetz, Trump’s attorney general pick, said he did not have a sexual relationship with a minor, a 17-year-old, while he was a member of Congress, despite sworn witness testimony to the contrary. Gaetz allies also point to a Justice Department investigation that yielded no charges.

A 2017 sexual assault investigation into the man Trump plans to nominate to be defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, resulted in no charges, according to Hegseth’s lawyer. Hegseth reached a confidential settlement with the woman involved.

Eight employees of SpaceX filed a lawsuit earlier this year accusing CEO Elon Musk of fostering a hostile work environment that the plaintiffs say was rife with sexual harassment. The eight plaintiffs said that during the course of their employment with SpaceX, they were exposed to “unwanted conduct and comments of a sexual nature by Elon Musk that created a hostile and abusive work environment,” their lawsuit said. Musk denied the allegations, according to the Associated Press. Musk has been tapped to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency, a government agency Trump intends to establish.

Kennedy, Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, is the only one of the four who indicated it was possible that he had acted inappropriately, apologizing to a former nanny for allegations of unwanted sexual advances in the 1990s. 

He told CBS News that he does not recall the conduct in question, but does not want to “leave anybody in the world feeling like I did something that was insensitive or inappropriate.”

Asked whether he might have to make a similar apology to someone else in the future, Kennedy replied, “It’s quite possible. I’m 70 years old. I had a very rambunctious life.”

Trump himself has been accused of sexual misconduct by at least 15 women. In 2023, a jury found him civilly liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll. 

The Trump transition team has not responded to a request for comment.

Machismo was often a centerpiece of Trump’s appeal to voters during the 2024 campaign. He regularly spoke about toughness — whether that trait applied to his immigration policy, combating illicit drug trade or surviving two assassination attempts.  

Wrestler Hulk Hogan delivered a primetime speech at the Republican National Convention, ripping off his shirt while lavishing praise on the nominee. 

And Trump also spent time on right-leaning podcasts with largely male audiences. 

His entreaties to male culture paid off in November. He had a bigger advantage among male voters against Kamala Harris, winning this group by 13 percentage points, compared to the 8-point advantage he had against President Biden in 2020, and the 11-point margin over Hillary Clinton in 2016.  

The Senate will have final say on whether Gaetz, Hegseth and Kennedy become confirmed cabinet secretaries. Ahead of their confirmation hearings, Republican senators, who are likely to have to provide nearly all of the votes for these four nominees, did not say much about their prospects.

Louisiana Senator John Kennedy was uncertain Tuesday on whether Gaetz could get the 51 votes he’ll need for confirmation. “I wouldn’t bet my house on it one way or the other. And if I were betting your house, which would be a lot easier, I’d say ‘I don’t know,'” he said. 

Several Republicans interviewed by CBS News had a similar message: let the vetting and confirmation process proceed, and don’t jump to conclusions, even if the allegations are troubling.

“We are going to have conversations,” Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa said.

“There needs to be legitimate vetting,” Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said. “That’s what committees do. This is our job.”