President-elect Donald Trump got on social media Friday where he dropped a few comments about his pick for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, who is facing heavy scrutiny at the moment, saying, “Hegseth is doing very well. His support is strong and deep, much more so than the Fake News would have you believe.” Trump’s comments come after several reports confirmed by multiple sources said that he’s mulling over replacing Hegseth with Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis after allegations emerged concerning Hegseth having drinking issues and allegations of sexual misconduct.
Even if these allegations aren’t true, and Hegseth says they’re not, just their existence could make it very difficult for him to be confirmed by the Senate after Trump takes office.
Fox News is reporting that the president-elect has extended an invitation for DeSantis to join him at next weekend’s Army-Navy college football game.
DeSantis, a popular conservative governor and a Navy veteran who served in the Iraq War, waged a bitter battle last year and early this year with Trump during a very combative and divisive GOP presidential nomination race. But the two Republican heavyweights seemed to make peace after the primaries, and DeSantis helped raise funds for Trump during the general election. DeSantis, who was re-elected in a landslide in 2022 but is term-limited and cannot run for re-election in 2026, is “very much” in contention to replace Hegseth, multiple sources told Fox News.
Another source told Fox News’ chief political anchor and “Special Report” host Bret Baier that it was the president-elect himself who floated the governor’s name, and that Trump and DeSantis discussed the idea as they met Tuesday while appearing together in Florida at a memorial service for fallen law enforcement officers in Palm Beach County. The reporting from Fox News and other organizations this week came as Hegseth continued meeting with Republican senators as he made his case for confirmation as defense secretary.
Hegseth, a former host on Fox who served as an officer in the Army National Guard and was deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan, has stated that he will not drink “a drop of alcohol” if the Senate confirms him for the job.
A seemingly defiant Hegseth told reporters on Thursday afternoon that “this will not be a process tried in the media. I don’t answer to anyone in this group. None of you, not to that camera at all. I answer to President Trump, who received 76 million votes on behalf… and a mandate for change. I answer to the 100 senators who are part of this process and those in the committee. And I answer to my Lord and Savior and my wife and my family.” Trump, in his social media post, argued that Hegseth “will be a fantastic, high energy, Secretary of Defense . . . , one who leads with charisma and skill.”
Both Hegseth and DeSantis would be good in this position. However, it might be far more advantageous for Republicans to have the Florida Republican stay in the governor’s mansion and keep the Sunshine State blazing red. But that’s just my opinion.