- Gov. Ron DeSantis is being considered as potential candidate for the role of Defense secretary.
- Peter Hegseth faces accusations about his treatment of women and management of a non-profit.
- Gov. DeSantis is also set to decide who will fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Sen. Marco Rubio, Trump's appointed secretary of state.
Reports from Capitol Hill indicate former Fox News host Pete Hegseth may be swapped out with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for the Cabinet position of Defense secretary.
Hegseth denied such a possibility, saying he spoke to President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday morning.
“He said, ‘Keep going, keep fighting. I’m behind you all the way,’” said Hegseth, a former National Guardsman. “Why would I back down? I’ve always been a fighter. I’m here for the fighters. This is personal and passionate for me.”
Following a series of reports about alleged misconduct by Hegseth, the former Fox News host’s chances of being confirmed in the controlled Senate grew slimmer.
What allegations does Pete Hegseth face?
NBC News reported Tuesday that some of Hegseth’s colleagues at Fox News expressed concerns about his drinking habits. All of the sources were anonymous.
Another article, published in the New Yorker Sunday, also quoting anonymous sources, alleged Hegseth stepped down from two nonprofit advocacy groups “in the face of serious allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety, and personal misconduct.”
Trump’s transition team dismissed NBC News details as “unfounded” and Hegseth’s lawyer labeled the New Yorker’s reports as a product of a vendetta carried out by “a petty and jealous disgruntled former associate of Mr. Hegseth’s.”
Peter Hegseth’s mom defends him on Fox News
Last week, The New York Times published a personal email Hegseth’s mother, Penelope Hegseth, wrote him in 2018 about his treatment of women. She appeared on “Fox & Friends” Wednesday to clear the record.
“Pete is a new person. He’s redeemed, forgiven, changed. I think we all are after seven years. I believe he’s the man for the job,” she said.
“I just hope people will get to know who Pete is today, especially our dear female senators, that you would listen to him, listen with your heart to the truth of Pete,” she added
Of the letter, she said she wrote it while emotional during a time when her son was going through his second divorce. “I wrote that out of love,” she continued. “And about two hours later, I retracted it with an apology, but nobody’s seen that.”
In a post on X Wednesday, Hegseth attacked “the Left,” saying it is “afraid of disruptors and change agents,” like himself and Trump. “So they smear (with) fake, anonymous sources.”
Could Trump choose DeSantis to replace Hegseth?
As Hegseth made the rounds at the Capitol to shore up support for his confirmation, Trump and DeSantis, one of the president-elect’s rivals for the GOP presidential nomination this past year, met Tuesday while appearing at a memorial service for three fallen Florida troopers in Palm Beach County.
Sources confirmed to Fox News and The Wall Street Journal that DeSantis, who served as a Navy lawyer in Iraq and the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, is in the running to receive the nomination for Defense secretary. Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Trump, told Fox News it’s best to wait until the president-elect’s announcement.
“Until we hear it from President Trump, then it’s all just chatter,” Miller said. “Here’s the important point, though. It’s going to be President Trump that’s picking the next DOD secretary, not Kamala Harris.”
Trump and DeSantis have had a tense relationship from time to time. When DeSantis ran for governor in 2018, he received Trump’s endorsement, but when he decided to run for president, Trump called him “disloyal” and gave him the nickname “Ron DeSanctimonious,” all of which led to a tense primary election.
After he dropped out of the presidential race, the Florida governor positioned himself in proximity to Trump and even stumped for him at various rallies.
According to The Wall Street Journal, other names being floated are Elbridge Colby, a former Pentagon official in the Trump administration, and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.
DeSantis to fill Rubio’s Senate seat
Trump has given DeSantis, who has termed out of running for governor in 2026, another important task: to fill the U.S. Senate seat set to be vacated by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who is Trump’s pick for secretary of state.
According to the speculation, the president-elect and his allies reportedly pushed for DeSantis to appoint Lara Trump, his daughter-in-law and the co-chair of the Republican National Committee, to the position.
Lara Trump did not downplay the rumors. “If I am tapped to serve in another capacity, it truly would be my honor,” she told Fox News in November. “I have not been asked yet, but I certainly would strongly consider it if it is presented to me.”
DeSantis is expected to fill the seat after Christmas as his team works through the vetting and interviewing process this month. As NBC News reports, DeSantis could also appoint someone to serve the rest of Rubio’s term and run for the Senate seat himself in 2026. But “The governor is not looking for a placeholder and seems unlikely to pursue the Senate himself,” a Florida Republican told NBC News.