A soft landing President Donald Trump reportedly wanted for embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been ruled out by a close MAGA ally.
Tennessee Gov.-elect Marsha Blackburn, who will appoint her own replacement in the U.S. Senate, is not considering Hegseth for the seat, according to sources close to her who spoke to the Nashville Banner on Friday. The outlet reported Saturday that Hegseth, who faces potential impeachment, had been rumored as a pick and was reportedly being pushed by Trump ahead of Tuesday’s election.
Speculation about Hegseth picked up at the end of September, when he attended a University of Tennessee football game that Trump and Blackburn also went to, the Banner reported. Hegseth also owns a home in Sumner County, Tennessee.
But a source close to Blackburn repeatedly denied that any meeting or conversation about the appointment took place, the outlet reported. The same source told the Banner and other reporters this week that “D.C. won’t pick the next senator.”
Blackburn’s sources instead confirmed a short list of four names, according to the Banner. They include Glenn Jacobs, the former professional wrestler and ex-Knox County mayor who served as treasurer for Blackburn’s campaign, along with Rep. Tim Burchett, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann and Deputy Gov. Stuart McWhorter, who chairs her transition committee.
Jacobs was the only rumored contender to join Blackburn onstage for her acceptance speech on election night, the Banner noted. Burchett has told Punchbowl News that he is openly seeking the seat, while Fleischmann told reporters after Blackburn’s win that he would run in 2028 if appointed.
Hegseth was not the only name crossed off. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and former CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger, who showed up at Blackburn’s first post-election press conference, are also not under consideration, according to the Banner’s sources.
Whoever Blackburn taps will hold the seat through 2028, when voters will choose a senator to finish her term, which runs until 2031. The appointee would head into that race with the advantage of incumbency.
The Banner noted that a seat as a freshman Republican senator may have lost some of its luster after a Democratic wave this week flipped both chambers of Congress.
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