DeSantis For SECDEF?
The Florida governor is among several names being floated to replace Pete Hegseth.
WSJ (“Trump Mulls Replacing Pete Hegseth With Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis“):
President-elect Donald Trump is considering Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a possible replacement for Pete Hegseth, his pick to run the Pentagon, according to people familiar with the discussions, amid Republican senators’ concerns over mounting allegations about the former Fox News host’s personal life.
Picking DeSantis, a 2024 GOP primary rival for the presidency, would amount to a stunning turn for Trump. But he would also find in the governor a well-known conservative with a service record who shares Trump’s—and Hegseth’s—view on culling what they see as “woke” policies in the military.
Trump allies increasingly think Hegseth might not survive further scrutiny, according to people close to the president-elect’s team, which considers the next 48 hours to be crucial to his fate.
DeSantis, who served as a Navy lawyer in Iraq and the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, was on an earlier list of potential defense-secretary candidates that transition officials presented to the president. Trump ultimately went with Hegseth. But as Hegseth’s nomination has faltered, that list has been revived and DeSantis is again among the choices Trump is considering, the people said.
The discussions are in their early stages, one of the people said, adding that Trump has floated DeSantis’s name in casual conversations with guests at Mar-a-Lago, his private Florida club.
Trump could decide not to choose DeSantis and select another replacement, if Hegseth’s nomination falls apart, the people said. Another potential defense-secretary candidate who has been discussed by Trump allies, according to people familiar with the matter, is Elbridge Colby, a former Pentagon official and ally of Vice President-elect JD Vance. Trump is also considering Sen. Joni Ernst (R., Iowa) for the job, some of the people said.
Frankly, any of these people would be a huge step up from Hegseth.
DeSantis’ military experience is limited, but that’s been true of most of our defense secretaries. Still, five years of active service and another five in the Reserves is more than most. And he served on both the Foreign Affairs Committee and a Subcommittee on National Security while in the House, gaining additional relevant experience. And, certainly, six years running one of our largest states is considerable executive experience.
Questions about his Navy tenure, particularly his time as a legal advisor at Guantanamo, raise concerns about his judgment. But, frankly, he was a junior lawyer, not a decision-maker. All in all, he’s a very conventionally qualified pick.
Ernst retired as a lieutenant colonel in the National Guard, including commanding a sustainment battalion. She has been a Senator for a decade, serving on the Armed Services Committee. She has been wishy-washy on Trump, including opposing his impeachment after the Capitol Riots, but did vote to certify the election. Again, she’d be a conventionally qualified pick.
Colby is a rising star in Republican defense policy circles but would not ordinarily be considered well-qualified for the top job. He served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development during Trump’s first administration—several rungs down the ladder. He’s also squishier than I’d like on Russia—but on account of being a rabid China hawk rather than a pro-Putin toady. Given that the #NeverTrump movement has largely cleared the bench of traditionally qualified Republican defense wonks, though, I wouldn’t hate the pick.
Having conventional people in charge at Foggy Bottom and the Pentagon would be heartening, given the alternatives.
Agreed with your assessment James. Obviously none of these would be my preference, but all are vastly more qualified than Hegseth. DeSantis seems like the best choice in terms of actually having extensive administrative experience.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! [Breathe in, wipe eyes – start a response – nope, can’t do it] BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Matt: I can assure you we’ve all walked on sidewalks that are vastly more qualified than Hegseth.
Of course the true issue is Trump’s hideous judgment and impulsiveness. Some say he is nominating people with the chaos and distraction factors in mind, but that would be a chess move from a checkers player. He is perpetually firing people because he is so bad at vetting them.
I’d prefer Ernst over DeSantis, simply because I believe she’d be less likely to showboat on issues, but I’d take either of them over Hegseth, who is not remotely qualified for this job.
Okay, I have my coffee now and am ready to make a real comment.
If Trump is forced to take Hegseth out of contention (and Hegseth doesn’t give Trump the easy way out by Gaetz-ing himself), then Trump will appoint someone he can regularly humiliate and treat like a cat treats its litter box. He will emasculate De Santis at every turn because in his what-passes-for-mind, De Santis will deserve everything he gets because he dared to run against Trump in the primaries.
And it is entirely possible that removing him from the governorship will allow Trump to endorse some other idiot for the job. One thing De Santis and Trump really do have in common: they both regard Florida as their personal kingdoms.
One the best things about this choice is that Desantis has presidential aspirations of his own, and will challenge Trump in a way that most of the lackeys he has floated so far would never do.
I also think that he’s smart enough to see through any sort of 25th Amendment/Peter Thiel scheme to usurp Trump and install Vance, and maybe head it off before it gets legs.
The idea that the fate of our democracy may well lie within the political ambitions of a guy like Desantis is nauseating, but here we are.
I am genuinely sorry for clogging up the thread like this but apparently dedicated researchers have found a clip from 8 years ago where Hegseth calls Trump (on Fox News) “All bluster, very low substance… he’s an armchair tough guy.”
No word yet on whether he was drunk when he said it.
Source: https://bsky.app/profile/acyn.bsky.social/post/3lcgvy6skv32q
And here’s how you run a government.
Let’s see, Gaetz bails, Hegseth isn’t sober enough and the pick for DEA, realizes that he’s not remotely qualified for the job and exercises rare good sense and bails as well. Only the best people.
Yeah, any of the rumored Hegseth replacements have the paper qualifications, but are also institutionalists and trump isn’t inclined to want that.
Will Gaetz and Hegseth going down in flames make it more likely or less likely that Russian asset Gabbard and frog-voiced druggie RFKJ also implode?
DeSantis’s negative charisma and shoe lifts at the Pentagon would be a fun ride.
I know this is a little out of the box, but how about Yun Suk Seul for SecDef? He’s already proven that he understands the real purpose of the military in Trumpworld, and he’s going to be needing a job really soon.
Also, he can’t be more personally unappealing than DeSantis.
As a Floridian, let me say DeUseless is a loathsome POS. As Guv, he’s term limited. Please, don’t give him another platform. Let him serve out his term and fade from public view.
The MAGAs are outraged by the accusations against Hegseth. It’s all lies.
@Not the IT Dept.:
Isn’t it strange how many people who couldn’t stomach Trump years ago now adore him?
I don’t think it will be Desatanis.
The felon wants obsequious ass-kissers who will do as they’re told, and will neither 1) overshadow him nor, 2) leak to the media. Desatanis looks likely to fail at the latter two.
Hegseth is the sediment at the very bottom of a less than half empty barrel. The other persons named are still floating around at the bottom end of the barrel.
@Jen:
Yes, but Hegseth looks good, to Trump, on TV. We all know that’s the prime qualification.
@Kathy:
I kinda agree with this. Hegseth, Gaetz, Gabbard, and RFK Jr all appeared to be ridiculously unqualified or anti-qualified picks that served as opening bids that should give way to more conventionally underqualified loyalists, who would seem somehow acceptable by comparison—e.g., Bondi. If he’d wanted Desantis as SECDEF, he could’ve picked him straight away.
@CSK: What explains the nomination of Kash Patel, what with his Jack the Ripper eyes?
@Not the IT Dept.: That is Trump’s kink. Getting his ass kissed by people who despise him but are willing to do it for personal advancement. Their utter humiliation gets him off. That photo of him smiling while Mitt Romney is groveling captures his soul. John McCain’s dissent earned the McCain family eternal vengeance.
@Kathy:
Actually, this is about where I thought Trump would land, not that I thought it would be next-up with DeSantis.
Trump is commanding the news cycle … as usual. You float a ‘Keep The Mouth Breathers Happy’ trial balloon with a clearly unqualified guy like Hegseth, you let the media vet the guy, and see if Republican senators dare to oppose you. If they do oppose, no problem, there are always more who want to degrade themselves. Looks like the Gaetz scenario again.
DeSantis is ruthless, and if Heritage 2025 wants a major renovation of the Pentagon, including elimination of the non-existent Woke Crisis, then Desantis is sober enough to do it. He will sail through confirmation.
@DK:
I think he might overlook Patel’s appearance in favor of Patel’s desire to destroy the FBI.
Per CNN, Hegseth says he’s not dropping out.
@Tony W: I think you give DeSantis too much credit. He auditioned for Trump 2.0 and was rebuffed by the MAGAts. I see him more as a pretend “normal candidate.” All the bigotry and White Power attributes of Hegseth with the veneer of normalcy that will let y’all believe “not my choice, but much more rational and reasonable.”
Still, Ernst isn’t MAGA enough and you’re convinced that DeSantis is a viable opponent for Trump [stifles derisive snort]– okay sure, great choice. [shrug emoji]
“any of these people would be a huge step up from Hegseth”
But, of course, that describes a lot of people.
I fear that many members of the Trump cabinet will fit some version of “Well, at least they are better than X!” which is one helluva way to run a superpower.
(And yes, the ones mentioned are conventional picks, regardless of whether they would be my preference or not).
@al Ameda:
Oh, it would be a pro forma confirmation, no doubt.
But first the felon has to pick him.
@CSK: I see it more as Carville’s blank sheet of paper and question to Clinton’s aides “Where is the position from which he will not move?” (back over 30 years ago) on steroids, but I’ve always been kind of an acquired taste.
And at least it’s not Democrats being spineless and mercurial this time. So there’s that.
@al Ameda:
Ayup.
One question though: Is DeSantis stupid/vain enough to believe that SECDEF is a path to 1600 Penn. Avenue?
@Matt Bernius:
Yes, but DeSantis is also fixated on anti-Woke. This kind of mindset is more of a distraction to “mission” than the established norms of diversity in the military.
Personally, based on my experiences, I prefer to see a culturally “leveled out” military in place of a reactionary enclave.
@Joe & @al Ameda:
Trump is running the Cabinet nominations version of the infamous “weave” he does in his public speaking – he is floating half baked rhetoric/concepts/tropes to see what will get a reaction from the crowd.
Until he moves from his Truth Social blathering and Mar-a-Lago water cooler talk to actually formally placing a name in nomination, it might be better for everyone’s sanity to not indulge whatever Trump is spewing out. Once he’s done playing with everybody’s head, he will nominate who he really wants and the Republicans will rubber stamp everyone on his list.
@just nutha: One question though: Is DeSantis stupid/vain enough to believe that SECDEF is a path to 1600 Penn. Avenue?
@gVOR10: Meh, I can’t see DeSantis as doing that type of short-term thinking. He’s a buffoon, but a buffoon with a plan. I like the scheme where he resigns from office on the condition of being named as Little Mario’s replacement better. It’s corrupt, it’s classic Southern politics, and it appears to be legal.
Besides my beloved /s governor, my deeply MAGA “representative”, Greg Steube, was a JAG, as were Louie Gohmert and at least eighteen other House members plus Lindsay Graham and at least six other senators. It’s a pretty good path for someone planning a political career. You get military service on your resume with relatively little chance of being shot at. I’m getting a little cynical about it.
Isn’t that a bit like saying “Given that the #lifeboat movement has largely cleared the decks of the Titanic…”? #NeverTrump is the effect, not the cause.
Pete is now promising to stay sober.
As I recall, this didn’t work for John Tower, coincidentally also nominated for defense.
But, who knows. It’s a different country now.
Hegseth is claiming that Trump told him “to keep fighting.”
I suppose that means Trump will dump him tomorrow.
Let me just say that if the US is attacked or faces a critical situation, the last person in the world I would want would be Hegseth. In this sense, and as much as I dislike DeSantis, at least he would be able to handle a crisis, so at least he meets the bare minimum to be DOD secretary.
@Kathy: Is he also planning to swear off giving roofies to women? Or is that a bridge too far for him?
He is the best governor in America. Virginia a close second.
This may burnish credentials. If I’m JD Vance I’m looking over my shoulder.
And people are actually talking about Harris in 2028. That’s a belly laugh.
@Jack:
I’ve heard very little talk of that. I have, on the other hand, heard talk that her next opportunity might be the governorship. I don’t know why she would want that so soon (November 2026) after this run.
@Lucysfootball:
He’s still in denial about that.
@Kathy:
Different country, same human neuro-biology.
Hesgeth’s reported episodes of substance abuse and behavior towards women likely place him in the compulsive category.
“I promise I’ll behave” probably isn’t sufficient. And I doubt he’d credibly submit to 12-step programs for God and Country.
Based on her tweet, Joni Ernst was not impressed by her meeting with Hegseth.
I’d say she just damned him with faint praise, but I don’t think there is any praise in there. And that’s all she tweeted on the topic.
@Rob1: 12-step programs are about behavior modification ultimately. BM yields poor results unless the replacement behavior is more rewarding than the original behavior.
Greetings from Tallahassee. I’d like to thank Jack. I needed a chuckle. First, Ron “Little Boots” DeSantis is the kind of guy who prosecutes people for disagreeing with him, and has. Second, he has the retail political skills of a loud, damp fart. Match him up in a debate with someone like Pete Buttigieg and they would wash him off the stage with a hose.
@Jack:
By what twisted metric? Seriously. It can’t be the quality of life of people in his state…
@Fog:
As we learned with Hillary and Kamala, winning debates does not matter to us — an electorate of childish and weak Philistines. And to be fair to us these silly debates should not matter. They’re useless gotcha theater.
Unfortunately, things that should matter — the candidates’ policy positions on affordable housing, affordable healthcare, affordable education, democracy, environment, national and internal security — also don’t matter.
We vote on grievance, resentment, our daddy issues, our mommy complexes, rally size, who’s “likeable” (gag me), who we want to have a beer with, who went on this or that podcast, and waaaa the mean and dismissive woke liberal scolded me and hurt my wittle masculine alpha male feewings waaaa, etc etc.
If DeSantis runs against Buttigieg, and Buttigieg wins the debates, DeSantis will still win the election because the idea of a gay or woman president still gives mediocre losers the ick.
Trump’s popular vote spread is 1.48% and shrinking. Democrats picked up a seat in the House. And Dems retained all but one of their swing state senate and governor seats.
It seems that if Kamala Harris had been a straight guy named Kevin Harris, Democrats could’ve defied the global anti-incmbent gravity and won the White House or House or both. The pundit and consultant classes have financial incentives to parse the results in needlessly complex ways, but sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
@DK: Sorry. Too cynical for me.
He has to ask himself, by the end of Trump’s term, when he wants to run for president, will being associated with Trump be a plus or a minus? Would a smart Republican with presidential aspirations want to be associated with this presidency or not?
@DK:
I’m with you on this.
These days the ‘debates’ must have entertainment value, and that entertainment value must include a spectacular gaffe in order for it to have a lasting effect or a consequence.
Trump doesn’t ‘do debates’, it’s not his thing. His thing is riffing on ANYTHING.
Ask him, or pose to him, a policy question on, say, Tariffs, and he’s as likely to say ‘I’m a stable genius that many have said deserves the Nobel Prize in Economics,’ or ‘that’s a rude question, you’re a nasty retarded person.’ His people love the entertainment and the FU attitude.