Trump Reportedly Considering Former Rival for Cabinet Position as Pete Hegseth Struggles
As defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth struggles amid allegations regarding his private conduct, a new name emerged as a potential Pentagon head in the next Donald Trump administration: Trump’s former GOP nomination rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Late Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal broke that Trump “is considering Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a possible replacement for Pete Hegseth, his pick to run the Pentagon, according to people familiar with the discussions, amid Republican senators’ concerns over mounting allegations about the former Fox News host’s personal life.
“Picking DeSantis, a 2024 GOP primary rival for the presidency, would amount to a stunning turn for Trump. But he would also find in the governor a well-known conservative with a service record who shares Trump’s — and Hegseth’s — view on culling what they see as ‘woke’ policies in the military.”
Like Hegseth, DeSantis also has a reputation as a China hawk and has experience serving in the military. However, his time in government — as well as a personal life that has been thoroughly vetted through several campaigns, including for the presidency — would make the path from nomination to confirmation considerably smoother sailing.
Indeed, DeSantis was on an initial list of potential defense secretary nominees that Trump transition officials had assembled, given the governor’s time as a Navy lawyer both in Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay.
However, Trump went with Hegseth — a veterans activist and Fox News host whose selection was considered an out-of-the-box pick.
Hegseth’s biggest hurdle has been a 2017 sexual assault allegation in which no charges were filed and which Hegseth’s defenders have maintained was an excuse by the woman to cover for a consensual extramarital encounter with the Fox News host.
Nevertheless, the media has made considerable noise regarding Hegseth’s relationship with women, including The New York Times publishing a 2018 email from his mother regarding his treatment of women written in the wake of a divorce from his ex-wife Samantha.
More problematic than that for the president-elect’s team, however, has been how forthcoming Hegseth has been about his past with them.
“He has not been forthright with the Transition team staff and the president-elect and vice president-elect,” CNN reported a senior transition source telling them.
“There are significant concerns more accusations are going to come out from his time at Fox News,” the transition source added.
CNN’s report, published roughly at the same time as the Journal’s report that DeSantis was being considered for the position, had the transition source saying that Hegseth’s scheduled appearance Wednesday on Fox News with his mother was “absolutely critical” to his chances staying alive in the race to be defense secretary.
The Journal also seemed to confirm that, if everything didn’t necessarily hinge upon the Fox News appearance, the transition team “considers the next 48 hours to be crucial to his fate.”
“Trump allies increasingly think Hegseth may not survive further scrutiny, according to people close to the president-elect’s team,” the Journal noted. Hegseth can only lose three votes from Senate Republicans and still be confirmed.
As for DeSantis, the fact that he’s being considered as a backup is at least partly indicative of how far the two have come in repairing a fractured relationship.
“DeSantis was once seen as an acolyte of Trump but his decision to challenge the former president in the 2024 GOP primary began a bitter conflict between them, with Trump casting DeSantis as disloyal. Trump easily prevailed in the primary and friends of the two have worked to repair the relationship,” the Journal noted.
“Trump and DeSantis both attended a Tuesday memorial service for fallen law enforcement officers in Palm Beach County, Fla. The idea has been presented to DeSantis in recent days, according to a person familiar with the discussions.”
While no Republicans have publicly said they would oppose Hegseth’s nomination, reports say there are at least six GOP senators considering voting against him. In addition, he would have to face perhaps the most strenuous opposition from Democrats of any of Trump’s cabinet picks, particularly over his level of experience in government and his view that women should not be on the front lines in combat.
“He obviously has a chance to defend himself here. But some of this stuff is – it’s going to be difficult,” said GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
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