National political correspondent Maggie Haberman, referring to the controversy over President-elect Trump's choice to head the Pentagon, says she has received a “tons” of calls on behalf of Pete Hegseth because the future of Trump's nomination is uncertain. He indicated that he had no intention of applying.
Haberman is wednesday night interview Caitlan Collins on CNN's “The Source” cited sexual assault allegations against Hegseth as a reason for President Trump to distance himself from Trump. Instead, she says, the president-elect appears to be letting his candidates fight the battle alone.
“As far as I know, Mr. Trump is not making a ton of phone calls on behalf of Pete Hegseth,” a senior New York Times reporter told Collins. “He's telling Pete Hegseth to fight.”
She compared the issue to Brett Kavanaugh, whom President Trump nominated to the Supreme Court, also accused of sexual misconduct. But Haberman said the situation is different.
“These are not the same circumstances. In Mr. Kavanaugh's case, the accusations were decades old. There wasn't a lot of real-time evidence. There was already a trend among some senators against this. It was,” she said Wednesday.
“And Mr. Trump really played a lot of games on this one,” the veteran journalist added. “That’s the big difference here.”
Mr. Hegseth continues to face intense scrutiny from Republican senators following new revelations, including allegations of alcohol abuse and past sexual misconduct, accusations Mr. Hegseth denies. The former “Fox & Friends” host spoke with the House Republican Investigation Committee on Wednesday, a day after his third meeting with senators.
President Trump is rumored to be considering other names to replace Hegseth, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R). Mr. DeSantis and Mr. Trump are key Republican rivals on the campaign trail, and the nomination would mark a surprising shift in their relationship.
But Haberman pointed out that's Trump's preference.
“He's personally told people that if you bring in someone who has a feud like this within the primary, it's going to be a big story,” she said in an interview. Highlighted by Mediaite.
He also noted that DeSantis would have a much easier time getting confirmed by the Senate than Hegseth because he fits “Trump's agenda.” Still, Haberman said some members are “more optimistic than others” about Hegseth's confirmation.
“Most people in Trump's orbit don't think this means Pete Hegseth has a good chance of surviving,” she acknowledged, adding, “Trump believes that Hegseth should have been more upfront with him.” I am complaining to people privately that I feel that
Hegseth's mother joined Fox News on Wednesday to defend her son's nomination and had a message for Trump. But Haberman questioned whether that was enough.
“Is that enough? I don't know. Most people around President Trump are pretty skeptical,” she said.
“And once he starts talking about a possible replacement, it's hard to understand why already skeptical senators would think, 'Oh, okay, now we're going to go along with this,'” Haberman said. added.
Despite the mounting criticism, Hegseth vowed in a post on social platform X on Wednesday that he would not withdraw his candidacy.
“I'm doing this for the fighters, not the warmongers.” he wrote. “The left is afraid of disruptors and changemakers. They're afraid of @realDonaldTrump and me.”
“So they're filling it with fake anonymous sources and BS articles. They don't want the truth,” Hegseth continued. “Our warriors will never back down, and neither will I.”
