Hegseth's chances of making it through U.S. Senate confirmation have been bogged down by revelations he was accused of sexual assault, which he denies and for which he has never faced charges, and by a whistleblower report first detailed by The New Yorker alleging he had been forced out of leadership roles with two nonprofit veterans groups for personal misconduct,

On Friday, when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned Trump of the damage this would cause, the president-elect reportedly joked that “if Canada can’t survive without ripping off the U.S. to the tune of $100 billion a year, then maybe Canada should become the fifty-first state and Trudeau should become its governor.”