Trump mulls DeSantis for Pentagon chief as Hegseth faces multiple allegations
Hegseth insists he’s ‘not going anywhere’, claiming the US president-elect’s full support despite concerns about his path to confirmation
Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s Pentagon pick, was fighting to hold on to his cabinet nomination amid growing questions on Wednesday about his personal conduct as the US president-elect’s team considers alternatives, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Hegseth said, claiming Trump’s full support.
But the Trump transition team was increasingly concerned about Hegseth’s path to Senate confirmation and actively looking at potential replacements, a person familiar with the matter said. Hegseth is under pressure as senators weigh a series of allegations that have surfaced against him.
DeSantis, who competed against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, is being discussed as a possible replacement if Hegseth’s nomination does not move forward, according to three other people familiar with the matter. They were not authorised to publicly discuss internal deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Hegseth is the latest nominee-designate to be imperilled by personal baggage after the recent withdrawal of Trump’s pick to be attorney general, former US congressman Matt Gaetz, whose vulnerabilities were well-documented.
But Hegseth’s past, including the revelation that he made a settlement payment after being accused of a sexual assault that he denies, was not widely known.
