Senate Republicans say Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump’s choice to head the Defense Department, faces a very tough path to confirmation in the Senate and his bleak prospects have been communicated directly to the Trump transition team, which is now mulling other options.
Senate sources say there is a block of likely “hard no’s” in the Senate GOP conference and identify Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as lawmakers who view Hegseth’s nomination very skeptically.
“I don’t know that there’s a real clear path,” said one Republican senator, who added that colleagues “are very apprehensive” about Hegseth’s nomination.
“It’s damaging to the president,” the senator added. “It doesn’t help us in the Senate.”
Hegseth on Wednesday waged a significant effort to salvage his nomination, including by pledging to Republican senators that he would stop drinking if confirmed as secretary of Defense.
And some Republican senators, even those who are defense hawks, think Hegseth could be a good choice to lead the Pentagon, citing his background as a decorated combat veteran and his lack of deep connections to the Defense Department’s network of generals who tend to resist big changes.
But Republicans are also hoping to be spared the headache and embarrassment of public confirmation hearings in which women who have accused Hegseth of sexual misconduct or former colleagues who have accused him of unprofessional behavior might testify.
GOP lawmakers say they don’t want to publicly call for Hegseth to resign based on anonymous allegations. They argue that a key difference between Hegseth and former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who recently dropped his bid to become attorney general, is that Hegseth’s accusers haven’t testified in sworn depositions like Gaetz’s accusers did.
But the accumulation of damaging allegations against the nominee is alarming Republican senators.
A second GOP senator said Hegseth appears “headed” for defeat in the Senate Armed Services Committee or on the Senate floor if he doesn’t withdraw.
The lawmaker said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a staunch Trump ally, has floated Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) as a possible alternative to Hegseth.
Another Republican senator familiar with Trump’s deliberations over what to do about Hegseth’s nomination said the president-elect himself floated DeSantis’s name as a potential replacement to a group of people.
“I think some of these articles are very disturbing,” Graham told CBS News on Tuesday. “He obviously has a chance to defend himself here, but some of this stuff is going to be difficult.”
Asked Wednesday about his conversations with Trump, Graham told The Hill: “I said to him what I said to everybody else.”
Graham argued that Hegseth should have a chance to defend himself from allegations of sexual and financial misconduct and excessive drinking.
“I’ve known him for a long time. All this stuff is new to me. I’m not going to tank him because of anonymous sources. Somebody’s got to come forward and make a credible allegation. He deserves a chance to defend himself. Those accusing him of something need to come forward,” Graham said.
“The allegations are anonymous. If they’re true, he’ll have a hard time,” he said.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Hegseth needs to put a hard stop to his drinking.
“I need to be convinced he’s not going to drink anymore. I know it sounds oversimplistic but I also think it contributes to all of his other problems, his substance abuse. I’m way too familiar with it in my own family and nobody wants a secretary of Defense that’s got a drinking problem,” Cramer said.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the incoming chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Hegseth pledged to him at a meeting Wednesday morning that he would stop drinking if confirmed.
“I think that’s probably a good idea,” Wicker told reporters.
Two sources familiar with the matter confirmed to The Hill that Trump is weighing alternative options in the event Hegseth is forced to withdraw, though Trump has not yet signaled he’s giving up on Hegseth.
Trump has spoken with DeSantis about the prospect of the top Pentagon job, and DeSantis is open to the role, one source said. DeSantis served in the Navy and is aligned with Trump’s vision to eliminate “woke” aspects of the military.
Trump and DeSantis saw each other Tuesday at a memorial for fallen Florida law enforcement officers.
Other names that have been floated for the role include Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Elbridge Colby, who served in a deputy role in the Defense Department during Trump’s first term.
One Senate Republican aide said Ernst has to proceed extremely carefully in how she handles Hegseth’s nomination if she wants to get the nod as Trump’s Plan B to lead the Defense Department.
The source warned that Ernst would enrage Trump’s MAGA base if she’s viewed as the senator responsible for sinking Hegseth’s nomination.
Ernst told reporters she had a “frank and thorough” conversation with Hegseth after meeting with him for 45 minutes Wednesday afternoon. She declined to entertain any speculation about her leading the Defense Department if Hegseth flames out.
“Pete is the nominee,” she said.
Hegseth has shown no signs of backing down.
He penned a Wall Street Journal op-ed claiming he was the target of a “manufactured media takedown.”
He went on Megyn Kelly’s SiriusXM show, where he said Trump reiterated his support during a conversation earlier Wednesday and likened his situation to that of Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court justice who was confirmed after a bitter process in which he was accused of sexual assault.
Hegseth’s mother, Penelope Hegseth, appeared on “Fox & Friends” to push back on a New York Times report about an email she sent her son in 2017 criticizing his treatment of women. She has since said she regretted sending the note.
Penelope Hegseth specifically used the appearance on Fox to appeal to female senators, who she urged to keep an open mind about her son’s nomination.
“He’s a changed man. And I just hope people will get to know who Pete is today,” Penelope Hegseth said. “Especially our dear female senators. That you would listen to him. Listen with your heart to the truth of Pete.”
One source in Trump’s orbit noted the media blitz was unusual for the president-elect’s nominees. Not even Gaetz went on television to try to salvage his nomination as it faltered.
One Senate GOP aide warned that Hegseth faces a block of “hard no’s” in the conference, while a second GOP aide predicted that more damaging revelations are likely to surface.
“It could always get worse,” said the second aide. “The FBI background check is not going to be fun.”
Al Weaver contributed.
