Outgoing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has broken his silence on whether he would replace embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Hegseth, 46, has been scrambling to keep his Cabinet job after Republicans suffered a midterm wipeout, fueled by voters’ anger over the Iran war he has overseen and its impact on prices.
Trump has privately polled his advisers about Hegseth’s future, asking whether they think the defense secretary should stay on, according to a CBS News report, which cited multiple sources familiar with the matter.
Republican lawmakers and allies are reportedly eager to line Hegseth up as the fall guy for voters turning against Trump over his quagmire war on Iran, arguing that he played a key role in persuading the president to attack Iran despite lacking a clear plan.
One source told the outlet that DeSantis, 48, has emerged as a potential successor to Hegseth. The person argued that the governor, whose term ends in January, could be confirmed by the Senate before Republicans relinquish control of the chamber next year.
“Your name has come up at least twice in the last two years when there have been problems at the Pentagon with the secretary of war. As somebody that President Trump could nominate to replace him, including in the lame-duck that we are now in, is that something you would be interested in?” Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked.
DeSantis, whose relationship with Trump has been rocky, did not flatly dismiss the possibility, but said the prospect had never come up in conversation with the 80-year-old president.
DeSantis and Trump have largely made up since the president returned to office after clashing on the campaign trail.
Andrew Cabello-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
“Anytime I’m mentioned, that’s just people doing it. I see President Trump frequently now that he’s back in Florida. I’ve never discussed it with him. It’s never been anything I’ve asked,” he said.
DeSantis added that he thought Trump would “stand by” Hegseth, particularly after Democrats moved to impeach the Fox host-turned-defense secretary.
“I mean, you can disagree with a Cabinet secretary,” he said, before criticizing Democrats for trying to impeach Hegseth on what he called “policy differences.”
In fact, the impeachment articles brought by rebel Republican Rep. Thomas Massie accuse Hegseth of violating the Constitution by waging war in Iran, Venezuela, and Yemen without congressional authorization.
But the impeachment push has stalled after 11 Democrats missed a vote Tuesday night, which failed 211-204 along party lines.
Trump has so far publicly stayed steadily behind Hegseth.
Some have speculated that DeSantis, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, has his sights set on another White House bid rather than a Cabinet post—particularly after he touted Florida as the lone Republican bright spot at a press conference after the midterms.
“Last night we witnessed, to call it a wave, I don’t think would be fully accurate. It’s the political equivalent of a meteor strike that went all around the United States, blue states, red states, everything in between. And the one state that was able to hold the line and withstand that is right here in the free state of Florida,” he said.
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