The Hill - Senate GOP sees Hegseth nomination as likely doomed

by Alexander Bolton - 12/05/24 5:36 PM ET

Pete Hegseth’s nomination to serve as secretary of Defense appears doomed despite his fiery declaration that he’s “not going anywhere,” Republicans on Capitol Hill told The Hill on Thursday.

“I think most people do not expect Hegseth to make it,” said one Republican senator. “There’s seven or eight [Republican] votes against him. It’s a matter of time.”

“It’s on the death watch,” the senator added.

GOP senators say that President-elect Trump is letting Hegseth twist in the wind and even appeared to undermine his nomination by floating Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) as a possible replacement nominee to head the Pentagon.

Republican senators say that Trump isn’t making calls to GOP senators to save Hegseth’s floundering nomination and instead is throwing more ballast onto a sinking ship by floating DeSantis as a replacement.

DeSantis, a Navy judge advocate general who is a member of the U.S. Navy Reserve, would easily win confirmation, the GOP source said.

“Where is all of this stuff about DeSantis coming from? That’s all coming out of Mar-a-Lago,” the first GOP senator who spoke to The Hill said.

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