President-elect Donald J. Trump has told advisers he is standing by his nominee for defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, after the transition team was jolted by an allegation he had sexually assaulted a woman in an interaction he insists was consensual.

Trump made his view plain to aides after a conversation with Hegseth days ago, after the team learned that a woman had accused him of assault in 2017, according to two people briefed on the discussion. They also learned that Hegseth had entered into a financial settlement with the woman that had a confidentiality clause.

On Sunday, Steven Cheung, the President-elect’s communications director, did not address Trump’s thinking, but said, “President Trump is nominating high-calibre and extremely qualified candidates to serve in his administration.” He added, “ Hegseth has vigorously denied any and all accusations, and no charges were filed. We look forward to his confirmation” by the Senate.

Last week, the Monterey Police Department in California said it had investigated an allegation of sexual assault involving Hegseth in 2017 at the address of the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa. The statement released by the police said no charges was filed against Hegseth.

Trump announced on Tuesday that Hegseth, a former Fox News personality, was his choice to lead the Pentagon, setting off a wave of resistance from many corners of Washington. Hegseth has criticised some in the Pentagon leadership as too “woke”, and he pushed for Trump to intervene when he was President on behalf of three members of the military accused or convicted of war crimes, which Trump did.

Late on Wednesday, the Trump team received a memo written by a person claiming to be a friend of a woman who said she was raped by Hegseth. The memo said the woman, who was referred to as “Jane Doe”, was 30 at the time and was working for the organisers of a conference in California where Hegseth spoke. Jane, the memo said, was staying at the hotel with her husband and two children.

The allegations in the memo, obtained by The New York Times, could not be independently verified.

Hegseth was a speaker at the Republican women’s conference at the Monterey hotel in early October 2017 when the encounter that led to the investigation occurred. According to the police statement, the complaint was filed four days after the encounter, and the complainant had bruises to her thigh. The police report itself was not released.

New York Times News Service