President-elect Donald Trump reiterated his support Friday for Pete Hegseth to lead the Pentagon, just hours after being named Fox News‘s Patriot of the Year.
Hegseth, who is looking to jump directly from Fox News to the second Trump administration, is facing an uphill battle toward being confirmed after sexual assault allegations and his reported alcohol use made headlines.
The former Fox host has spent recent days meeting with senators on Capitol Hill, but reports surfaced earlier this week that Trump is also considering Gov. Ron DeSantis (R‑FL) as an alternative should Hegseth fail to be confirmed.
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“Pete Hegseth is doing very well. His support is strong and deep, much more so than the Fake News would have you believe. He was a great student – Princeton/Harvard educated – with a Military state of mind,” Trump wrote Friday morning on Truth Social. “He will be a fantastic, high energy, Secretary of Defense Defense, one who leads with charisma and skill. Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!”
The president-elect spent the previous night at Fox Nation’s Patriots Awards in New York City, an event at which Hegseth was mentioned multiple times.
“Just as an aside, there was someone in that package that I thought, I don’t know if you thought, looked like they would make one hell of a secretary of defense,” Will Cain, Hegseth’s former Fox & Friends co-host, quipped to the crowd after Hegseth was featured in a video montage honoring veterans.
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“Thank goodness Pete Hegseth — before he came to Fox News — was with Concerned Veterans for America, and they helped us,” Phoenix Veterans Affairs hospital whistleblower Paula Pedene added while accepting an award. “They helped fix it.”
Despite Trump’s assurances, Hegseth still has work to do to win over senators on the fence, including Sen. Joni Ernst (R‑IA), who is both a veteran and rape survivor.
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“We had a very frank and productive discussion, and I know that we will continue to have conversation in the upcoming months,” Ernst said Thursday of her meetings with Hegseth. “For a number of our senators, they want to make sure that the allegations have been cleared and that’s why we have to have a very thorough vetting process.”
Meanwhile, DeSantis is waiting in the wings. The one-time Trump enemy is expected to attend the Army-Navy football game on Dec. 14 alongside the president-elect.