'Incompetence': Rep. Banks rips West Point as school apologizes for 'mistake' in saying Hegseth was not accepted

FIRST ON FOX: The U.S. Military Academy at West Point is apologizing after an employee mistakenly said Pete Hegseth was not accepted by the historic military college, and now a lawmaker is demanding accountability.

Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., accused West Point administrators of trying to “sabotage” Hegseth’s nomination to be President-elect Trump’s defense secretary.

Banks are now demanding information on how the error could have happened.

“As you know, ProPublica reporter Jesse Eisinger was preparing to publish an article falsely claiming that Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth was lying when he said he had been admitted to West Point but that he had decided not to attend,” Banks wrote.

“To prevent the publication of a blatantly false story, Hegseth published his acceptance letter from West Point, proving the truth of his claim and leading ProPublica to kill the story. Eisinger defended his reporting, claiming that OPA of West Point had told him “twice on the record” that Hegseth had not even applied to West Point. “

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Rep. Jim Banks, pictured left, demands to know how West Point could “mistakenly” tell a reporter that Pete Hegseth, right, had not been accepted. (Getty Images)

“It is outrageous that West Point officials would so grossly interfere in a political process and make false statements regarding a presidential candidate.

“Even in the unlikely scenario that OPA mistakenly makes false statements not once but twice, it is an unforgivable act of incompetence that OPA did not absolutely ensure that its information was accurate before releasing it. share with a journalist.”

He asked the school to turn over to Congress “all communications and documents regarding the manner in which West Point OPA falsely accused Hegseth of lying about his candidacy.”

When reached for comment, West Point apologized for the error and said academy records indicate Hegseth was accepted in 1999 but did not attend.

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President-elect Donald Trump nominated Hegseth to serve as Secretary of Defense. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“An incorrect statement regarding Hegseth's admission to the U.S. Military Academy was posted by an employee on December 10, 2024. Upon further review of an archived database, employees realized that this statement was incorrect. “Hegseth was offered acceptance to West Point as a prospective member of the Class of 2003. The academy takes this situation seriously and apologizes for this administrative error,” the Academy's communications department said. West Point.

Hegseth is a veteran of the Army National Guard who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This comes as he continues to meet with senators as part of the confirmation process to join the incoming Trump administration.

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Banks, himself an Army veteran, is a staunch ally of Hegseth. His support will be crucial next year, after he won a landslide victory in November to become Indiana's next senator.

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Eisinger, ProPublica's editor-in-chief, defended the outlet's handling of the situation in a lengthy series of articles on X.

“No, we're not publishing a story. This is how journalism is supposed to work. Listen to something. Check something. Repeat steps 1 and 2 as many times as necessary. The end,” he said. he declared.

Banks told Fox News Digital, “Pete Hegseth will shake up DOD and eliminate wakefulness from our military and military academies. This upsets the bureaucrats at West Point, who now appear to be trying to sabotage his nomination.”