In the last 24 hours, Donald Trump lost his election to head the DEA. His nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, is struggling to win support from Senate Republicans. The president-elect is now even considering his former rival, Governor Ron DeSantis, to lead the Pentagon.
And these changes to his yet-to-be-formed administration come after former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his consideration as Trump’s nominee for attorney general.
Taken together, the setbacks are raising new questions about Trump’s power over his party, whether Republicans will bow to his every demand and the expectation that his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, will bring order to Trump’s transition. Trump and in the White House.
On Tuesday, Chad Chronister, Trump’s pick for DEA administrator, abruptly withdrew from consideration just days after being announced, saying in a post on such an important responsibility,” without citing a specific reason. . Chronister, a Florida county sheriff, had received criticism from some conservatives for his actions during the Covid-19 pandemic, but was not seen as one of the Trump administration’s most controversial picks.
He was the second Trump nominee to drop out of consideration in as many weeks, following Gaetz’s brief and traumatic candidacy, which plunged the Capitol into chaos over a sealed ethics report on the former Florida congressman. Trump eventually replaced Gaetz with former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.
And now, as new reports emerge about Hegseth that could further impede his Senate confirmation, including allegations of sexual assault and alcohol abuse – Trump is considering firing the former Fox host and installing another Florida man: his and Wiles’ old enemy, DeSantis.
Hegseth came to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to meet with Senate Republicans, including incoming chamber leaders and Sen. Joni Ernst, who is seen as a potential swing vote on his nomination. He told reporters that he was still in the race and that Trump himself had told him to “keep fighting.”
“Why would I turn back? “I’ve always been a fighter,” Hegseth said.
Not all senators from his party are convinced. “We absolutely cannot have a Secretary of Defense who gets drunk on a regular basis… I have to know that he has that problem solved,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), who will soon meet with Hegseth. told the Washington Post.
Trump’s idea about replacing Hegseth with DeSantis was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Trump has also mentioned other names, including Ernst, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a sexual assault survivor, and Elbridge Colby, a Trump ally and former Pentagon official, according to the Journal.
Trading Hegseth for DeSantis could be politically smart for Trump: DeSantis is a rising star in the party who, as governor, likely has far fewer skeletons in his closet than Trump’s other, more controversial picks. But it would also hurt Trump, who publicly clashed with DeSantis during his brief Republican primary campaign, which Wiles is credited with destroying as part of a long-running feud.
During the 2024 presidential campaign, the rivalry between Trump and DeSantis quickly turned ugly, and the political war was not limited to nicknames like “pudding fingers” and “Ron DeSanctimonious” and small bumps on shoe lifts. Trump viewed DeSantis’ challenge as an act of disloyalty, a trait Trump can despise above all others.
Since DeSantis dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump, their relationship has begun to thaw, and elevating a former critic to senior positions isn’t exactly novel for the president-elect (just look at the former vice president who was never Trump turned vice president). -Senator-elect JD Vance).
But Trump’s consideration of the Florida governor also indicates that his Cabinet nominees may need more than loyalty to survive a Senate confirmation.
Chronister, a Florida county sheriff with little experience outside of local law enforcement, was seen as a potentially odd choice to lead the DEA, but relatively uncontroversial compared to the other bombastic figures on Trump’s list.
But his actions during the Covid-19 pandemic, support for red flag gun lawsand previous donations to Democrats, according to Florida Phoenixhad drawn criticism from some conservatives, including Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.).
A Trump transition spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
