Trump Reportedly Considering Ron DeSantis To Replace Pete Hegseth as SecDef Nominee

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President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly mulling Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to be Secretary of Defense as Pete Hegseth’s nomination is facing pushback in the Senate, according to the Wall Street Journal. The paper cited “people familiar with the discussions.”

The Journal reported:

Picking DeSantis, a 2024 GOP primary rival for the presidency, would amount to a stunning turn for Trump. But he would also find in the governor a well-known conservative with a service record who shares Trump’s—and Hegseth’s—view on culling what they see as “woke” policies in the military.

Trump allies increasingly think Hegseth may not survive further scrutiny, according to people close to the president-elect’s team, which considers the next 48 hours to be crucial to his fate.

Hegseth, who served in the U.S. Army and did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, has come under intense scrutiny amid allegations of sexual assault, public intoxication, and serial adultery. Until his nomination, Hegseth was a host on Fox News.

DeSantis was an officer in the U.S. Navy, serving as a lawyer in the Judge Advocate General Corps. He unsuccessfully challenged Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination in a move that predictably rankled the former president, who repeatedly referred to the governor as “Ron DeSanctimonious.” Trump frequently claimed that as a gubernatorial candidate in 2018, DeSantis begged him for an endorsement in the GOP primary. The governor went on to win and won reelection in 2022.