Report: Trump stuck with Hegseth due to lack of interest in potential replacement nominee

Given how swiftly the attorney general nomination of Matt Gaetz fell by the wayside, some were surprised by President-elect Donald Trump's steadfastness when it came to his choice to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth.

A new report suggests that the reason for Trump's doubling down on Hegseth was a pragmatic one, with journalist Maggie Haberman suggesting that it became clear that support for a potential replacement nominee -- Gov. Ron DeSantis -- was lacking, as The Hill reports.

Doubling down on Pete

Amid a rocky start to his confirmation process, Hegseth found himself mired in controversy stemming from years-old misconduct allegations and claims of excessive drinking.

As the former Fox News personality began making the rounds at the Capitol, working to earn sufficient support, Trump came out publicly in his defense and expressed confidence in his eventual confirmation, as Axios noted.

Suggesting that Hegseth was “doing very well” in his meetings with senators, Trump added that his nominee's “support is strong and deep, much more so than the Fake News would have you believe.”

Even so, the rumor mill was churning, suggesting that DeSantis was being floated as a potential replacement for Hegseth if positive movement on Capitol Hill was not forthcoming.

Haberman's take

Despite Trump's outward show of strength in support of Hegseth, according to Haberman, there was a realization among his inside circle that support for DeSantis was sorely lacking, leaving him with little choice but to stick with his original choice.

“I think it's still true that he was tired and is tired of negative stories,” Haberman said of Trump with regard to Hegseth's controversies.

She went on, “What changed was a couple of things. One was...Trump could not find a single person in his orbit, or even really outside of it, who liked this idea of making Ron DeSantis -- the governor of Florida -- the Defense secretary choice.”

Haberman continued, “And it was not, you know, 'We're going to drop Hegseth, and we're going to look for a bunch of other people.' It was Hegseth or DeSantis at that point. And so, Trump was persuaded also after a call from Pete Hegseth to let Hegseth go out and see if he could fight his way past some of these stories.”

Skyrocketing odds

It now appears that the Trump-Hegseth strategy is paying dividends in real time, as the Washington Examiner reports.

Hegseth's odds of confirmation have shot up from a paltry 11% on Dec. 4 to an impressive 69% as of Wednesday, suggesting to many that the determination he has shown amid the harsh spotlight of public scrutiny will serve the Defense Department well should he be given a chance to lead.