Updated: With reports that Donald Trump is eyeing potential alternatives to Pete Hegseth as defense secretary, some of the former Fox & Friends Weekend host’s colleagues attempted to give him a boost.

Hegseth’s nomination faces new doubts in the wake of media reports about alleged drinking episodes, financial mismanagement and the settlement of a woman’s claim that he sexually assaulted her.

Hegseth’s mother Penelope appeared on Fox & Friends this morning and blasted The New York Times for publishing a leaked 2018 email in which she wrote to her son that they were “broken by your behavior and your lack of character.” Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy read a portion of the email during her appearance.

“He is not that man he was seven years ago,” she said. “I am not that mother, and I hope people will hear that story today and the truth of that story.”

She...