Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference on September 17, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
DONALD TRUMP AND RON DESANTIS have personally discussed the possibility of the Florida governor becoming the next secretary of defense amid concerns that sexual assault allegations could engulf the president-elect’s current nominee for the post, Pete Hegseth.
The talks, relayed by four sources briefed on them, are in their advanced stages. They underscore the fears within Trump world about Hegseth’s ability to survive a Senate confirmation process—despite public posturing from Hegseth and allies that he remains committed to ending up at DoD.
“These discussions are real. It’s serious. I can’t say it’s definitely going to happen, but the governor is receptive and Trump is serious, too,” a top Republican source familiar with the conversations told The Bulwark on condition of anonymity.
The discussions around DeSantis involve untangling several different political threads. The governor is currently handling the fallout of a separate Trump cabinet pick: Marco Rubio’s nomination to be secretary of state. DeSantis is weighing whether to appoint Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, to fill Rubio’s Senate seat. The possibility that the governor himself could end up at the Pentagon may factor into that decision.
“Initially, Lara Trump was not part of all of this,” the source said. “But there’s no way it could have been avoided.”
The conversations between DeSantis and Trump represent a remarkable turnaround in their relationship. The two men were once close allies but became bitter rivals when DeSantis ran against Trump for president last year in the GOP primary.
But Trump has been willing to put past disputes aside. If appointed, DeSantis would join a host of Florida politicians in Trump’s cabinet, including former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and Rep. Mike Waltz.
DeSantis first began talking with Trump about joining his cabinet back in June. The idea was initially brokered by Steve Witkoff, a Miami-based developer and friend of both men whom Trump has subsequently tapped to be his envoy to the Middle East.
DeSantis, whose term as governor ends in January 2027 and who cannot run again because of term limits, was most interested in becoming U.S. attorney general, but for that slot Trump wanted an appointee who had exhibited the utmost loyalty—so he tapped Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz. When Gaetz proved unconfirmable by the Senate, Trump sought Bondi to lead the Justice Department instead.
DeSantis, a Navy veteran, would face a far easier Senate confirmation than Hegseth, who has been dogged by salacious reports of drunkenness and sexual assault. While Hegseth’s attorney denies the allegations, criticism of his conduct has gained steam on the right in recent days. Newsmax host Greg Kelly on Monday night called on Hegseth to quit and commentator Ann Coulter criticized Hegseth for being a “sleazy serial adulterer.”
Hegseth, a decorated Iraq War veteran and former Fox News morning-show host, planned to discuss the allegations Wednesday in a sitdown interview with Fox News host Bret Baier.
“I’m not sure what Pete is going to say, but right now he looks like a goner,” said a Trump adviser who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Trump talking to DeSantis while this is all going on is a sure sign that Trump doesn’t think Pete is gonna make it.”
Before news of Trump’s interest in DeSantis was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, another Trump adviser expressed doubt to The Bulwark that Trump would abandon the Hegseth confirmation fight and pick DeSantis. “I would be really surprised by this,” the adviser said. “But then again, it’s Trump. He’s all about surprises. So who knows?”
Earlier on Tuesday morning, Trump had expressed support for Hegseth.
“We’re with him 100 percent,” Trump said, according to that adviser.
But as Gaetz’s star-crossed nomination showed, Trump is with his nominees until he decides it’s not worth it. And he’s not willing to spend too much political capital, at least not yet, on nominations that appear to be lost causes.
WHAT TRUMP LIKES ABOUT DESANTIS, according to one of the insiders briefed on the president-elect’s thinking, is that the governor has an uncompromising, no-nonsense approach to conservative governance. Not only is DeSantis a leader in “anti-woke” policy that Trump wants replicated in the Pentagon, he believes the governor can help root out waste in the department’s notoriously profligate budget.
“He needs don’t-give-a-fuck honey badger to go in there and root out waste,” a DeSantis confidant said. “And the gov is the OG honey badger.”
But many top Trump advisers dislike DeSantis for running against the once-and-future president, and some have been frustrated behind the scenes by the governor’s unwillingness, so far, to pick Lara Trump as a replacement for Rubio.
DeSantis resented being told whom to appoint and was uncomfortable with making Lara Trump, a newly minted Floridian, a senator. “She hasn’t paid her dues in the state. If she wants to become a senator, she can run for it in two years,” a DeSantis adviser said.
Asked if a possible Defense Department post could change some of DeSantis’s thinking, the adviser added:
“Who knows what’s going to happen. This is Trump’s world. We’re all just living in it.”
