Hegseth is still standing, but hasn’t yet saved his Pentagon bid

Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN

(CNN) — Pete Hegseth’s bid to lead the Pentagon is stuck in limbo, as he fiercely battles allegations of drinking and sexual misconduct and can’t be sure if President-elect Donald Trump really has his back.

A top Trump transition source had described Wednesday as “absolutely critical” for the former Fox News anchor’s confirmation hopes. And Hegseth threw himself into his task, meeting Republican senators, offering to quit alcohol if he’s confirmed, and mounting fiery rearguards on the Megyn Kelly radio show and in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.

As of now, Trump is standing by Hegseth, sources close to both men told CNN’s Kristen Holmes. Trump and those around him still see a pathway for Hegseth to be confirmed and argued that the current situation was not the same as what unfolded with Trump’s attorney general pick Matt Gaetz, who withdrew his name after Trump told him he did not have the votes to get confirmed.

Hegseth’s position seemed as tenuous Thursday morning as it was 24 hours earlier. But he was back on Capitol Hill and told CNN he had spoken with the president-elect, who told him to keep fighting. “I spoke to Trump this morning just a few minutes ago. He supports us fully,” Hegseth said. “I’m here because of Donald Trump. If he didn’t want me to be here, then I wouldn’t be.”

Hegseth has new meetings planned with senators on Thursday, including one with Tom Cotton from Arkansas, who is a prominent Trump supporter and key Republican voice on defense matters.

• The most important meeting on Hegseth’s schedule was with Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, a combat veteran, campaigner against sexual harassment in the military and a possible replacement pick for defense secretary if he falls short. Hegseth failed to emerge from the conversation with a public endorsement from the GOP senator. “I appreciate Pete Hegseth’s service to our country, something we both share,” she said in a post on X that was most notable for what was not said. “Today, as part of the confirmation process, we had a frank and thorough conversation.”
• Hegseth is due to meet two other key Republican senators, Maine’s Susan Collins and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, next week. Murkowski said Wednesday she’d “absolutely” ask him about allegations about his conduct and his opposition to women serving in combat roles in the military.
• Hegseth told Kelly on Sirius XM that he spoke to Trump Wednesday morning and that the president-elect had told him, “’Hey Pete, I got your back. It’s a fight. They’re coming after you, get after it.’” He added that Trump said, “‘You go meet those senators and I’ve got your back.’” Hegseth concluded: “It means a lot to me. It tells you who that guy is.”
• Hegseth’s lawyer, Tim Parlatore, told CNN’s Jake Tapper that his client “can’t wait” to undergo an FBI background check, which he said “is going to exonerate him of the vast majority of these claims.”
• Yet Trump did not make a public, on-the-record endorsement of Hegseth on Wednesday as his team at Mar-a-Lago closely watched the defense pick’s day of meetings with key senators. A source told CNN that the president-elect and Ron DeSantis have discussed the Florida governor taking the role, suggesting that Trump may already have a Plan B in mind.
• Hegseth’s more aggressive us-versus-them strategy also came into view on Wednesday as he styled himself with the same “warrior” spirit that he once showed on the battlefield. He characterized his troubles as purely the result of a “ridiculous” narrative by “legacy media.” He told Kelly, “It’s our turn, it’s our time, to stand up and tell the truth, and our side.”

Does Trump really want Hegseth?

But Sen. Josh Hawley summed up the doubts surrounding the Hegseth pick when he said he didn’t know if the selection should be withdrawn. The Missouri Republican said he’d support whomever Trump wanted in his Cabinet but added: “It’s not 100% clear who he wants as secretary of defense right now.”

Hegseth, an Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran, can afford to lose no more than three Republican senators and still be confirmed in the Senate, assuming all Democrats vote against. So, his window was narrow to begin with. And it’s hardly being helped by uncertainty over how much political capital Trump is willing to spend to see him confirmed.

But Sen. Markwayne Mullin said Wednesday night he’d spoken to both Trump and Hegseth and that the president-elect was still committed to his pick.

“They are still both all in the fight,” the Oklahoma Republican told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “The Source.”

“President Trump personally told me he wants to see Pete get confirmed and I think there’s a … path to get there. It may be a little narrow, but I believe we can get him confirmed,” he added.

The reticence of some senators to throw full public support behind Hegseth may be a hint that while they would prefer not to break with the president-elect early, they might also be keen to avoid a hearing that could turn into a public circus around the time of the inauguration.

One of Hegseth’s meetings on Wednesday was with West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, who said she’d gotten into his “personal issues” and that their chat went well. But she said she has not yet decided whether she will vote to confirm him.

Growing talk about Ernst and DeSantis as possible replacements may also be bad news for Hegseth, because it’s likely that some senators will view the Iowa senator and Florida governor as potentially superior defense secretaries. A number of Republican senators have told reporters they hold Ernst in high regard. And she and DeSantis would have a far clearer path to confirmation than Hegseth. Still, it’s not clear whether Ernst would fit Trump’s bill for an ultra-loyalist who’d do whatever he wants at the Pentagon or whether the president-elect would be willing to elevate a former primary rival with whom he traded sharp words.

Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal might not be a disinterested observer, but he suggested on Wednesday that the Hegseth nomination was already doomed. “I’ve talked to 5 to 10 Republicans who have said to me they’re just waiting for the right moment to say no to Pete Hegseth,” Blumenthal, who sits on the Armed Services Committee, told reporters.

Hegseth vows to quit drinking if he’s confirmed

Among the issues clouding Hegseth’s candidacy is a sexual assault allegation from 2017 — which he has denied, claiming the encounter was consensual, and in which no charges were filed.

The question of Hegseth’s alcohol use, which could be a concern given the grave responsibilities of the secretary of defense, was underscored by reporting from The New Yorker over the weekend about his tenure leading veterans’ advocacy groups. Other reports have also emerged about Hegseth’s conduct while employed at Fox News.

On Kelly’s radio show, he addressed reports of excessive drinking, complained that many of the allegations were made anonymously and suggested that some people in the Pentagon didn’t want him to get the job. “I’ve never had a drinking problem. I don’t – no one’s ever approached me and said, ‘Oh, you should really look at getting help,’” Hegseth told Kelly. He said that, like other service personnel who came home from wars, he had had some beers. “You know, how do you deal with the demons you’ve seen on the battlefield? Sometimes it’s with a bottle.” But he said that his wife Jennifer and embracing Christianity had saved his life and that he was now changed. Moreover, Hegseth said that he would treat serving as the secretary of defense like being sent to a war zone where alcohol was not allowed. “This is the biggest deployment of my life, and there won’t be a drop of alcohol on my lips while I’m doing it.”

Hegseth’s vow of temperance was welcomed by North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer, one of several Republican senators who have said that Trump’s pick would have to answer questions about allegations against him. “The drinking thing is a pretty significant issue – whether you have a problem or don’t have a problem, or you think you have a problem, or you think you don’t have a problem,” Cramer said. “And he said, ‘My commitment is to not touch alcohol while I’d have this position.’” Given that undertaking, Cramer said that he would be ready to give him the benefit of the doubt and put Hegseth before the Armed Services Committee and signaled he may be ready to eventually support his confirmation.

Hegseth’s chances hinge on winning over more senators like Cramer, which may require lowering the heat around his candidacy. Any fresh allegations against him might begin to throw his prospects even more into question. And while he says he has Trump’s support now, there’s no guarantee that he can retain it if he becomes even more of a distraction from the president-elect’s efforts to fill out his government.

Ironically, any new revelations about some of Trump’s other provocative choices — like Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence or Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for the Health and Human Services Department – could help Hegseth return to the shadows and might help his aspirations. Gabbard and Kennedy have so far largely avoided the scrutiny that’s confronted Hegseth and Trump’s short-lived first pick for attorney general, former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz.

The president-elect is notoriously prone to change his mind about candidates — one reason why talk of his interest in DeSantis for the defense job should be taken with appropriate caution.

Still, sources told CNN that the Florida governor and former US military lawyer would be interested in the position if asked. On the face of it, DeSantis would be a popular choice among Republicans, and he has the experience of running a massive government in Florida that could help prepare him for the task of leading the Pentagon bureaucracy. DeSantis also has the kind of culture war credentials that Trump wants for the Pentagon; he built his political brand partly on attacking diversity and inclusion programs, for example.

Swapping Florida for the Pentagon in Virginia could make smart political sense for DeSantis, as it would give him vital national security experience that could lift any future presidential campaign. If he were chosen, it would set up a fascinating triumvirate of at least three potential future primary foes — along with Vice President-elect JD Vance and secretary of state pick Marco Rubio — in Trump’s administration.

Still, DeSantis was scathing about Trump during their primary duel and was especially acerbic about the president-elect’s refusal to take part in the Republican debates. He suggested that Trump had “lost the zip” on his “fastball” and said that he’d be a far more effective implementor of MAGA policies. Unlike Rubio, who has had eight years to leaven his campaign trail critiques of Trump with praise, DeSantis’ insults may be far fresher in the president-elect’s mind.

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