President-elect Trump is considering replacing his Defense Secretary pick, former Fox News personality Pete Hegseth, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) or Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), according to sources familiar with the transition.
Trump is mulling another Cabinet pick switch-up as Republican Senators have concerns about sexual assault allegations against Hegseth, sources told NewsNation. A source said discussions with DeSantis have been going since last week and that the governor is interested.
A separate source told NewsNation that Hegseth has been on “shaky ground” for a few days and this is a critical period in his confirmation process, if it succeeds.
Hegseth posted on X on Wednesday morning that he will not be withdrawing his candidacy.
“I’m doing this for the warfighters, not the warmongers,” he wrote. “The Left is afraid of disrupters and change agents. They are afraid of @realDonaldTrump—and me. So they smear w/ fake, anonymous sources & BS stories. They don’t want truth. Our warriors never back down, & neither will I.”
The Wall Street Journal first reported the conversations. A transition official did not return a request for comment.
Among the meetings Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth is scheduled to have Wednesday is a key session with Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, a veteran and sexual assault victim.
A time is not set for that meeting.
She can be expected to question him about his views against having women in combat roles and some of the personal allegations against him which he as denied.
Ernst earlier this week told reporters she expected to have a “frank and thorough conversation” with him.
If Trump pivots to DeSantis, it would be a shocking turn for the president-elect.
The Florida Governor ran a GOP presidential primary bid against Trump, and the two traded insults during the campaign. Still, DeSantis is a well-known conservative who served in the military, and the two mended fences after the primary.
Hegseth is facing growing scrutiny from GOP senators after new revelations over the weekend included allegations of alcohol abuse and previous sexual misconduct.
He plans to meet with the House Republican Study Committee on Wednesday. While House members don’t have a say in the confirmation process, it could be seen as a pressure tactic to back the former “Fox & Friends Weekend” host.
Hegseth held his third round of meetings with senators and brought his wife, former Fox News producer Jennifer Cunningham Rauchet.
This all comes just after Trump senior adviser Jason Miller said the team isn’t concerned with their choice of Hegseth amid the controversial reports.
DeSantis, who attempted to make amends as Trump seized the GOP nomination, will be ineligible to run for governor again once his term ends in 2027.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who was initially tapped to be Trump’s attorney general but withdrew amid his own sexual misconduct allegations, has been floated to fill DeSantis’s seat when his term ends.
The Hill has reached out to the Trump transition team for comment.
