Two people with knowledge of the decision-making process say that President-elect Donald Trump is thinking of replacing troubled defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
According to one source, DeSantis is highly contested.
According to NBC News on Tuesday, up to six Republican senators are unsure about their support for Hegseth, putting his nomination in doubt.
Overnight, the Wall Street Journal first revealed that DeSantis was being considered for the Cabinet position.
Two people familiar with the decision-making process said Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., are other potential candidates for the top Pentagon position.
According to two other sources, Trump’s choice for White House national security adviser, Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., is also a potential candidate to head the Pentagon.
Senators who have misgivings about Hegseth have voiced their concerns about rumors concerning his treatment of women and accusations that he drinks. When questioned about the drinking accusations on Tuesday night, Hegseth remained silent and denied mistreating women.
In the 2024 presidential election, DeSantis ran against Trump for the Republican nomination but withdrew from the race in January, a few days before the New Hampshire primary.
Despite the fact that the two had been at odds during the campaign and that the previous president had nicknamed DeSantis Ron DeSanctimonious, he instantly embraced Trump. While others have echoed the president-elect’s remarks that the 2020 election was stolen, DeSantis has insisted that Trump lost, in contrast to many of his other choices for his prospective Cabinet.
During the Iraq War, DeSantis served in the Navy and rose to the position of lieutenant commander.
Ernst, on the other hand, served in the Army National Guard and Army Reserve before rising to the position of lieutenant colonel. She participated in the Iraq War as well.
Hagerty has never served in the military. served as the U.S. ambassador to Japan during the first Trump administration before to joining Congress in 2021.
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