Alyssa Farah Griffin, Donald Trump’s director of strategic communications in his first administration, said on Thursday that following the exit of Cabinet pick Matt Gaetz, the focus is likely to shift to the equally scandal-ridden Pete Hegseth, who Trump has chosen to serve as secretary of defense.
Farah Griffin told Jake Tapper, “I think now that Matt Gaetz is out of the running, all of the senate’s eyes are focused on [Pete Hegseth],” whom she said she had met “a handful of times.”
“Trump has genuine affection for him,” the “View” host continued. “This is his hand-picked choice. But the sex allegations [and the feeling is that] he’s deeply unqualified for this role [by] Republican Senators, especially those on Senate Armed Services and the Intel committees. They take the national security post extremely seriously.”
Farah Griffin further stated there are “real questions” about Hegseth, a Fox News weekend host, even without the shadow of the sexual misconduct allegations.
“Yes, he did serve our country in uniform. But he hasn’t managed large numbers of people,” said Farah Griffin, citing the stats that the position involves overseeing one of the biggest organizations in the U.S. government, including 3 million service members and their families, as well as troops in 160 countries. He would also be “one of two people on the planet who could deploy U.S. military assets,” she pointed out.
“I think the questions around his qualifications to be secretary of defense are really going to be front and center with Gaetz out of the line right now, and hence that’s a real uphill battle to confirmation,” she added. “With all the stuff from his personal life, that just muddies it even further.”
As for Gaetz, Farah Griffin said, “I think that it was clear to Donald Trump that the votes simply weren’t there for Matt Gaetz, and I’d actually predicted that his nomination would likely be pulled. Trump’s always been a fan of Gaetz. He sees him as a loyalist who’s good at defending him on TV. But he’s not one of those core guys that he’s really going to go out on a limb too far to protect and defend.”
Trump has since picked former Florida AG Pam Bondi in Gaetz’s place.
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