A growing variety of senators have privately signaled they should not inclined to vote to verify Pete Hegseth as President-elect Donald Trump’s next defense secretary, prompting Trump advisers to start discussing who a viable successor is perhaps, sources aware of it tell ABC News with the case .
Sources tell ABC News that no less than six senators have privately said they don’t intend to vote for Hegseth amid mounting allegations about his mistreatment of ladies.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks through the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention on the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 16, 2024. Days after surviving an assassination attempt, Donald Trump won the formal nomination because the Republican Party’s presidential candidate and duly selected: loyalist winger J.D. Vance’s running mate, kicking off the party’s triumphant convention after last weekend’s failed assassination attempt.
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While Trump and his advisers have privately said the president-elect supports Hegseth and wants him to “continue the fight,” sources aware of the private discussions tell ABC News there may be a growing list of successors emerging to switch him. They include Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty and Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, whom Trump has already named national security adviser.
Sources near DeSantis say he has expressed interest within the role. He was seen today as Trump attended a memorial service for three Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies in West Palm Beach who were killed in a crash last month.
Contacted by ABC News, a spokesman for Trump’s transition team declined to comment.
U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) speaks to reporters on her solution to the Senate luncheon on the U.S. Capitol on November 19, 2024 in Washington, DC. US President-elect Donald Trump is putting pressure on the Senate to just accept his Cabinet nominations, potentially using the nominations during recesses.
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Hegseth returned to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, trying to increase support in pushing back against allegations of misconduct and sexual impropriety.
The visit took place after reporting “New Yorker.” that Hegseth was forced to depart two veterans’ nonprofit groups – Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America – amid allegations of monetary mismanagement, sexist and other disqualifying behavior.
ABC News has not independently confirmed the magazine’s report. Hegseth’s attorney, Tim Parlatore, told The New Yorker that the claims were “outlandish.”
