Donald Trump’s aides, who are working on nominating Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense, have told Trump’s transition team that three Republican senators are adamantly opposed to his confirmation, two people familiar with the matter said. He said he had not yet counted the number of people.
The president-elect, who was chosen by the president-elect to lead the Pentagon, is seeking federal support to shore up support amid allegations of sexual assault, excessive drinking, sexual pursuit of female subordinates and expulsion from two nonprofit organizations. He returned to the Capitol and met with senators.
But despite Hegseth’s nominating team meeting with senators themselves and a number of hard-hitting headlines clouding the selection, the critical threshold of three “no” votes has not been met. Trump’s trajectory suggested he might ultimately win.
And while Trump himself has not expended any substantial political capital by calling for a holdout on Hegseth’s behalf, Trump aides working on his nomination have said that Hegseth is not a candidate, both in the Senate and inside Trumpworld. He is working to gain the support of the next president.
Hegseth’s team includes close aides to Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and Trump’s eldest son, Don Jr., and is part of a particularly powerful group with the ability to influence Republican senators and Trump’s inner circle. It is a representative.
Mr. Hegseth’s most difficult hurdle, at least for now, will be convincing Republican Sen. Joni Ernst to support the nomination, people familiar with the matter said, or whether Mr. Hegseth’s reluctance will cause Senate aides to vote against him. It seems like the idea is to make sure it doesn’t happen.
Mr. Ernst, an Iowa Republican and military veteran who has said he had been sexually assaulted, met with Mr. Hegseth privately on Wednesday, but did not meet with Mr. Hegseth when she appeared or the next morning. He also did not endorse her in an interview with Fox News.
“Many of our senators want to make sure they are cleared of all charges, which is why we need a very thorough vetting process,” Ernst told Fox News, speaking with host Bill.・I agreed with Mr. Hemmer. “Yes” to Hegseth.
Due to Mr. Ernst’s continued resistance, the Trump campaign at Mar-a-Lago, where the transition operations are headquartered, asked Mr. Ernst to withdraw Mr. Hegseth’s nomination because Mr. Hegseth himself was interested in the position. Complaints arose that they were not satisfied with the results.
Ms. Ernst briefly ran for secretary of defense, but she was attracted to Mr. Hegseth because of what Mr. Trump saw as telegenic qualities and because of his conversations with Mr. Ernst on the campaign trail. I was sent off.
But officials said Mr. Ernst had met repeatedly with Mr. Trump in recent weeks, questioning Mr. Hegseth’s selection and raising accusations that he was trying to position himself for the job. It is said that this is occurring.
Ernst’s spokeswoman said in a statement that Ernst is not seeking to be secretary of defense, saying: “She is not seeking the position, absolutely.”
Still, the backlash against her within Trumpworld has not subsided, with aides predicting war with other Sherpa teams if she effectively forces Hegseth to withdraw her nomination for personal gain. officials said.
President Trump believes his choice for national security adviser, former Florida congressman Michael Walz, will have an easier time winning Senate confirmation as defense secretary, according to two people familiar with the discussions. He is said to have talked about it.
sign up for The Stakes — Presidential Transition
Introducing the aftermath of the US election and the transition to President Trump
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may include information about charities, online advertising, and content sponsored by external parties. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and are subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
After newsletter promotion
But President Trump has also said he wants to keep Walz in the West Wing, and that the top candidate to replace him would be Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida and his rival in the 2024 Republican primary. There is.
In Washington, Mr. Hegseth has launched a public media campaign to drum up support for his nomination. He met with more Republican senators in Congress, vowed to continue running, and said in a high-profile interview that Trump had told him he had his back.
Speaking with Megyn Kelly on Sirius compared to the headline.
“This is the classic art of smearing,” Hegseth said. “I take any little kernel of truth — and there’s a tiny, little kernel of it — and explode it into a masquerade of stories about someone who is definitely not me. ”
He later told Kelly that he intended to stop drinking completely if he eventually became secretary of defense. It’s similar to following military orders prohibiting drinking when deployed.
Mr. Hegseth’s team was once scheduled to appear on Bret Baier’s show on Fox News, but they ended up choosing Mr. Kelly, betting that it would be more profitable to speak with a female journalist who herself has spoken out against sexual harassment in a lengthy interview. He has decided to appear on the program. said a person familiar with the matter.
Hegseth’s team also sought to quell concerns that Hegseth’s mother sent emails to her son in 2018 accusing him of a pattern of abuse against women, including an appearance on the Fox & Friends morning show. In response, the person said he thought doubling down on Fox News was going too far. .
Penelope Hegseth said she regrets sending an email in which she described her son as “disrespectful, lying, cheating, sleeping” and urged senators to consider his nomination. urged. “He was saved, forgiven and changed,” she said.
