Pete Hegseth says he hasn’t heard from West Point since a staff member “mistakenly” refused his acceptance
FIRST ON FOX: It’s been almost a week since then United States Military Academy West Point admitted a mistake was made when a staffer said Pete Hegseth’s application had not been accepted, and President-elect Donald Trump’s chosen defense secretary told Fox News Digital that he had not yet heard from the school directly.
“I would just say I didn’t do it heard from West Point“Hegseth said on Tuesday. “Nothing.”
Asked if he wanted a direct apology from the school, the former Fox News host said, “You would think so.”
Defense Secretary candidate Pete Hegseth hasn’t heard of West Point Military Academy. (Getty)
ProPublica senior editor and reporter Jesse Eisinger stated last week on According to Eisinger, he was “100%” never admitted to the school “because he never started a file.”
However, Hegseth applied to West Point and was accepted in 1999, but never attended.
The defense secretary hopeful provided ProPublica with his original acceptance letter to the academy, and Eisinger said they reached out again to West Point, which then admitted a mistake had been made.
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Pete Hegseth, center, has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill. (Tom Williams)
In a statement, West Point said: “A review of our records shows that Peter Hegseth was offered admission to West Point in 1999 but did not attend. On December 10, an employee posted a false statement about Hegseth’s acceptance into the U.S. Military Academy.”, 2024.”
“Upon further review of an archived database, staff determined that this statement was false. Hegseth was offered admission to West Point as a prospective member of the Class of 2003. The Academy takes this situation seriously and apologizes for this administrative error.”
When Hegseth was made aware of the story that ProPublica had been working on, he publicly shared his acceptance letter on Point in 1999. “Here is my acceptance letter, signed by West Point Superintendent, Lt. Gen. Daniel Christman, U.S. Army.”
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The West Point “mistake” left a number of Republicans with questions. A Dec. 11 letter to U.S. Military Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Steven Gilland after Hegseth broke ProPublica’s story said: Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark.said: “I understand that a civilian public affairs officer, Theresa Brinkerhoff, informed a reporter that Mr. Hegseth did not apply to West Point, as he has said publicly in the past. This statement is false; not only has Mr. Hegseth applied, but he was also accepted into the West Point class of 2003.
“Worse, the statement potentially breaches Mr Hegseth’s rights under the Privacy Act 1974 by disclosing protected personal information. If this is true, it also shows egregiously poor judgment to share such information about the nominee for Secretary of Defense with a well-known liberal media outlet like ProPublica.
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Senator Tom Cotton immediately wrote to West Point pointing out the error. (Photographer: Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., also demanded information about how the error occurred in his own letter last week. The senator-elect wrote to Gilland requesting “all communications and documentation regarding how West Point OPA falsely accused Hegseth of lying about his application.”
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The school employee’s mistake comes as Hegseth continues his momentum on Capitol Hill, meeting with senators in hopes of being confirmed as Trump’s defense secretary in 2025.
West Point did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital.
