Trump considering replacing Hegseth with DeSantis as defense secretary pick
President-elect Donald Trump is considering selecting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as his pick for defense secretary to replace embattled former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, three sources familiar with the transition told CBS News on Tuesday night.
This comes after Trump and DeSantis attended a memorial for fallen law enforcement officers Tuesday in Florida.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report this story.
On Capitol Hill on Wednesday morning, Hegseth told CBS News that he does not intend to withdraw his name from consideration. Hegseth said he spoke with Trump Wednesday morning and Trump told him to keep going.
"I spoke to the president-elect this morning. He said, 'Keep going, keep fighting. I'm behind you all the way,'" Hegseth said. "Why would I back down? I've always been a fighter. I'm here for the fighters. This is personal and passionate for me."
A spokesperson for DeSantis had no comment when reached by CBS News. A spokesperson for Trump also declined to say whether DeSantis was under consideration.
The shift comes as Hegseth has faced a round of negative stories involving allegations of sexual misconduct, financial mismanagement at veterans' charities, repeated intoxication and infidelity. Hegseth has been meeting with Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill this week to try to build support ahead of his confirmation hearings,
At least four Republican senators would likely withhold support for Hegseth if a vote were held today, two sources close to the situation told CBS News.
"Some of these articles are very disturbing. He obviously has a chance to defend himself here, but some of this stuff is, it's going to be difficult," Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told reporters Tuesday. "Time will tell."
Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, who noted he has also read the reporting and is aware of the allegations, said Hegseth will have to address them.
"I want to know if they are true and I want to hear his side of the story and he is going to have to address them," he said Tuesday, adding that he wasn't sure if Hegseth's nomination would face headwinds.
On Monday, the New Yorker reported that before he became a full-time Fox News host, Hegseth was forced to step down from two nonprofit advocacy groups — Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America — amid complaints about his alleged behavior that included repeatedly being intoxicated while on the job, leading a hostile work environment and mismanaging the charities' funds. CBS News reported that Jessie Jane Duff, a Marine veteran who served as one of Trump's 2024 campaign executive directors, was among those who pushed to have him ousted from Concerned Veterans for America in 2016.
A lawyer for Hegseth has denied the allegations.
DeSantis ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination against Trump before dropping his bid in January following disappointing showings in the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries. He endorsed Trump at the time despite their hostile campaigns. In April, the two men privately at a golf club in Florida at the request of DeSantis.
According to a Trump senior adviser, donors and advisers to both Trump and DeSantis have been urging a détente between the two in what they believe is the best interests of the Republican Party.
DeSantis was commissioned into the U.S. Navy as JAG officer while attending Harvard Law School. He later served in Iraq, for which he was awarded a Bronze Star.