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Halperin Says His ‘Best Sources Are Saying’ DeSantis Will ‘Likely’ Replace Hegseth As Trump’s Defense Secretary Pick

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Political analyst Mark Halperin said Thursday that his “best sources” suggest that President-elect Donald Trump will probably replace his defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth with Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the coming days.

CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten asserted Wednesday that a small “miracle” would be required for Hegseth to secure Senate confirmation, noting the betting odds for his confirmation have dropped below those of Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz when he withdrew from consideration to be attorney general. Halperin, on “Wake Up America,” also acknowledged the challenges Hegseth faces in getting confirmed, suggesting Trump may announce DeSantis as his new pick “by the weekend.”

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“President Trump doesn’t like the attacks. He also doesn’t like how the attacks have been handled. He did like, I’m told, how aggressive team Hegseth was yesterday,” Halperin said. “But they’re running up against a group of senators anywhere between four and eight, I’m told, who are not inclined to vote for Pete Hegseth for a variety of reasons.”

“As for DeSantis, you know, there are people in MAGA world who are dead set against this, but there are lots of things that Donald Trump likes about it,” he continued. “And again, my best sources are saying right now, if you were going to bet — it’s Trump world, so you never know — but if you were going to bet, you’d bet that by the weekend, Pete Hegseth likely will be out and DeSantis will be named to the job.”

Hegseth has faced scrutiny for his alleged mistreatment of women since Trump chose him to be his defense secretary. He told SiriusXM’s Megyn Kelly on Wednesday that he thinks he is the target of a “smear” campaign, likening his experience to the 2018 confirmation process of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who also faced sexual assault allegations.

“I had a member, not 45 minutes ago, look me in the eye in private, just he and I, and say ‘That’s what they’re trying to do to you,’” Hegseth said. “‘That’s their playbook. Get ready for more, and they’re gonna make it up, just like they have so far. All anonymous, all innuendo, all rumor, nothing sourced, no verification and they’re just gonna keep doing it, because you’re a threat to them. You’re a threat to their system. You’re a threat to all the things in Washington, D.C., the swamp, the things that people have rejected. You’re a threat to that, and so they’re coming after you.’”

“I know that, he knows that, and when you stand firm on that, it’s not difficult to just continue to fight. So yeah, we saw what happened, but guess what happened? Kavanaugh stood up, and he fought, and he won, and hopefully Republicans have learned that lesson,” he added.