President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial pick for Defense Department secretary, Pete Hegseth, met with Republican senators at the Capitol on Thursday, amid a new details about sexual assault allegations following an incident in 2017 — on the same day, former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, facing his own allegations of sexual misconduct, withdrew his name from Trump’s nomination for attorney general.

The woman who accused Hegseth, a former Fox News host, of sexual assault in 2017 told the police at that time that he took her phone and prevented her from leaving the room the night of the incident, according to a 22-page police report obtained by ABC News. Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter was consensual.

On Thursday, Hegseth responded to a question about the sexual assault claim, saying “the matter has been thoroughly investigated and I have been completely exonerated and that’s where I’ll leave it.” .

While it’s true that Hegseth never faced charges in the case, investigators found the alleged victim’s version of events compelling enough to refer the case to prosecutors. Hegseth then paid the woman who accused him of sexual assault as part of a settlement agreement without admitting any wrongdoing.

Hegseth’s comment comes after Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump transition, said that “the report corroborates what Mr. Hegseth’s lawyers have said all along: the incident was thoroughly investigated and no charges were filed because police found the allegations to be false.” Nowhere in the report does it say that the allegations were proven to be false.

Hegseth, a Army veteran, could face a difficult path to confirmation and has spoken with Republican senators in hopes of helping him in his nomination process. Hegseth met with several Republican senators Thursday morning, including Senators John Barrasso, Roger Wicker, Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty.

When asked if Hegseth’s allegations and the police report came up in their conversation, Wicker said they didn’t go into detail.

“We haven’t been specific, but, you know, since no charges have been filed by authorities, we only have press reports,” Wicker said.

Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee — which will handle the defense secretary’s nomination and possible hearing, said Hegseth would be in “pretty good shape” during his confirmation process.

Barrasso called the former Fox News host a “strong candidate” after their meeting.

“Pete promised that the Pentagon would focus on force and hard power, not the woke political agenda of the current administration,” Barrasso said.

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst said she believed an FBI background check on Hegseth would be “helpful” in learning more about Trump’s choice.

Ernst, a veteran and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also said, “There’s a lot of stuff going around there, we really need to be able to visit him face to face, and I know the committee will do a thorough examination. “

Hegseth has also been involved in other controversies. He said in interviews before being nominated that he advocated a “frontal attack” on the Defense Department, including firing what he called “woke” generals and eliminating targets of diversity of the Pentagon. He also argued that women should not be allowed to participate in land combat. although he agrees with their service as pilots or in other military roles, as he claims it led to a lowering of the military’s physical standards and a change in the capabilities of combat units .

Hegseth’s visit to the Capitol comes just a day later Vice President-elect JD Vance and former Rep. Matt Gaetz met with senators to advocate for the attorney general role. Gaetz announced Thursday that he was withdraw your name from consideration.

Gaetz’s meetings with senators took place on the same day The House Ethics Committee decided not to release the report on him following allegations of sexual misconduct and illegal drug use.

-ABC News’ Arthur Jones and Sarah Beth Hensley contributed to this report.