Hegseth’s mother appeared on Fox News on Wednesday to defend her son, who faces multiple allegations that have emerged in the media about alcohol intoxication at work events, sexual misconduct and potential financial mismanagement.
The Trump transition team was growing concerned about Hegseth’s path to confirmation and was actively looking at potential replacements, a person familiar with the matter said.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who competed against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, is being discussed as a possible replacement if Hegseth’s nomination does not move forward, according to three other people familiar with the matter. They were not authorised to publicly discuss internal deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Trump and DeSantis appeared together on Tuesday at a ceremony in West Palm Beach to honour three fallen sheriff’s deputies.
The Trump transition team did not immediately comment.
