The Washington Post reported Wednesday Pete Hegseth canceled his Thursday meetings on Capitol Hill with GOP senators to fly down to Florida to meet President-elect Donald Trump, amid growing doubts over his ability to be confirmed as Trump’s nominee to lead the Pentagon.
Fox News’s Aishah Hasnie reported soon after that “HEGSETH tells me a meeting with TRUMP is ‘not on the schedule right now. We are staying on Capitol Hill and meeting with senators.'”
On Wednesday, Hegseth canceled his meeting with Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), and his camp told Punchbowl News that the meeting “was moved due to the dynamic nature of scheduling meetings with every single GOP senator.” Punchbowl’s Andrew Desiderio noted that the “meeting was postponed to next week.”
CNN’s Haley Talbot detailed Hegseth’s pre-confirmation blitz to try and shore up support, noting his schedule:
Four key meetings for embattled defense sec nominee Pete Hegseth tomorrow
– Incoming chair of the Senate Armed Services Cmte Roger Wicker
– Majority Leader-elect John Thune
– Armed Services member Joni Ernst
– Armed Services member Kevin Cramer
Plus a Fox News interview
Hegseth’s flight down to meet Trump comes amid reports that Trump is now considering Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to replace Hegseth.
On Monday, Axios reported that Hegseth had successfully swayed several GOP senators to support him amid past accusations of sexual assault resurfacing. Trump is famous for both not drinking alcohol and being highly critical of alcohol abuse. On Tuesday, new allegations of past excessive drinking and creating a toxic environment at a veteran’s group made headlines — resulting in at least one GOP senator changing her tune on Hegseth.
“These allegations that have come up just in the last 12 to 14 hours are a surprise to all of us. And so, yes, he does need to address those because this was not something of which we were aware, nor was President Trump aware of them,” Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) told reporters late Tuesday.
Lummis added, “Some of the earlier issues that were raised about an incident in California, I think were satisfactorily addressed and would not have interfered with his nomination.”
This article has been updated to reflect the latest developments
