National political correspondent Maggie Haberman weighed in on the controversy around President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon, suggesting he isn’t making “a ton” of calls on Pete Hegseth’s behalf because the future of his nomination looks uncertain.
Haberman, in an interview Wednesday evening on CNN’s “The Source” with Kaitlan Collins, pointed to the sexual assault allegations against Hegseth as reason why Trump may be keeping a distance. Instead, the president-elect appears to be letting his nominee fight the battle on his own, she said.
“Trump, as far as I know, is not making a ton of calls on Pete Hegseth’s behalf,” the senior New York Times report told Collins. “He’s telling Pete Hegseth: ‘Go fight.’”
She compared the issue to Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, who also faced sexual misconduct allegations, to the Supreme Court. Haberman, however, said the circumstances were different.
“These aren’t the same circumstances. With Kavanaugh, the accusations were decades old. There was not a ton of real-time evidence. There was already a disposition, among some senators to be against this,” she said Wednesday.
“And Trump really put a lot of skin in the game, on that one,” the veteran journalist added. “That is a big difference here.”
Hegseth continues to face growing scrutiny from GOP senators after new revelations included allegations of alcohol abuse and past sexual misconduct — accusations he has denied. The former “Fox & Friends” host met with the House Republican Study Committee on Wednesday, a day after he held his third round of meetings with senators.
Trump is rumored to be considering other names to replace Hegseth, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). DeSantis and Trump were GOP primary rivals on the campaign trail and the nomination would be a stunning change for their relationship.
But Haberman noted that it’s something Trump likes.
“He has told people that privately, that it would be a big story if he brought in somebody who he had this feud within the primary,” she said in the interview, highlighted by Mediaite.
She also noted that DeSantis would have a far easier time being confirmed by the Senate than Hegseth because he fits the “Trump agenda.” Still, Haberman noted, there are some lawmakers who are “more optimistic than others” that Hegseth will be confirmed.
“Most people in Trump’s orbit do not think that this is looking like a … likely prospect that Pete Hegseth survives,” she acknowledged, adding that, “Trump is complaining privately to people that he feels like Hegseth should have been more upfront with him.”
Hegseth’s mother joined Fox News on Wednesday to in a bid to save her son’s nomination with a message for Trump. But Haberman questioned if it will be enough.
“Will it be enough? I don’t know. Most people around Trump are pretty skeptical,” she said.
“And once he starts talking about possible replacements, it’s hard to see why senators who are already skeptical would be like ‘oh, okay, now I’m going to go along with this,’” Haberman added.
Despite the mounting criticism, Hegseth vowed in a post on social platform X on Wednesday that he would not withdraw 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,” Hegseth continued. “Our warriors never back down, & neither will I.”
