National political correspondent Maggie Haberman signaled Friday that President-elect Trump likely doubled down on Pete Hegseth as his pick to lead the Pentagon after support for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) as an alternative fell short.
“I think it’s still true that he was tired and is tired of negative stories," Haberman said during an interview on CNN's "AC360."
"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,” she added.
Hegseth, an Army veteran and former Fox News host, has faced a bevy of criticism in recent weeks over allegations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct. As he faced an uphill battle for Senate confirmation, Trump's team began mulling replacement nominees.
DeSantis, Trump's formal GOP primary rival who was floated as a top contender, said he was "seriously considering" the position, a source familiar with the matter told The Hill.
But in recent days, Trump has offered public support for Hegseth and his nominee has dug in while meeting with a range of Senate Republicans. Vice President-elect JD Vance (R-Ohio) and other conservative influencers also fought for the veteran behind the scenes, aiding in the nomination now appearing to be on better footing.
“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," Haberman, a CNN analyst, told guest host John Berman. "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."
She added that after Trump announced his potential Cabinet picks, they were not permitted yet to go on TV, leaving them with "their hands tied behind their back."
"In the case of Hegseth, he had ... basically a death or near death by a thousand cuts," the New York Times reporter said. "There had been just one negative headline after another alleging problematic behavior across a broad spectrum."
Hegseth and his mother Penelope — who has been a central part of the criticism over a previous email — later gave interviews to conservative media host Megyn Kelly. Haberman suggested that the tide began to turn for the embattled nominee then, and again after the president-elect backed him up.
“And you saw this movement most significantly, John, that this conservative now MAGA movement really, really activated online, on digital ads, making a target specifically of Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa to try to get her to a yes,” she added.
Asked if Trump's orbit believes Hegseth is now on the path to confirmation, she didn't seem convinced.
"I don't think there's an operative plan B. There is, remains, you know, a lingering awareness that something could come up. There could be more," she told Berman. "Hegseth himself is said to be aware that, you know, there are potentially going to be other stories."
"He and people in Trump's world have said they don't anticipate that any revelations will come that would impact the hearing. Who knows? But they are feeling vastly better about it today than they did a week ago," Haberman added.
