Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal seems to be the testing ground for Pete Hegseth's replacement, with that nomination now seemingly dead in the water. Whether it will go to DeSantis or someone else (Elbridge Colby and Joni Ernst have also been mentioned) remains to be seen but it is clear they're looking to pull the plug on Hegseth. And likely in the next 48 hrs.
Source: Wall Street Journal
President-elect Donald Trump is considering Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a possible replacement for Pete Hegseth, his pick to run the Pentagon, according to people familiar with the discussions, amid Republican senators’ concerns over mounting allegations about the former Fox News host’s personal life.
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.
DeSantis, who served as a Navy lawyer in Iraq and the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, was on an earlier list of potential defense secretary candidates that transition officials presented to the president. Trump ultimately went with Hegseth. But as Hegseth’s nomination has faltered, that list has been revived and DeSantis is again among the choices Trump is considering, the people said.
The discussions are in their early stages, one of the people said, adding that Trump has floated DeSantis’s name in casual conversations with guests at Mar-a-Lago, his private Florida club.
It's not clear that Trump has ever called DeSantis "Meatball Ron" in public, but the numerous reports of Trump using it in private at Mar-a-Lago have made it stick.
