Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said on Wednesday he has talked to several Republican colleagues who have said they are “waiting for the right moment” to reject Pete Hegseth as the nominee to lead the Pentagon.
“I’ve talked to five to 10 Republicans who have said to me, they’re just waiting for the right moment to say no to Pete Hegseth,” Blumenthal told reporters on Wednesday. “And for very good reasons.”
Blumenthal said he thinks Republicans are reluctant to come forward publicly to reject President-elect Trump’s nominee because “nobody wants to defy Donald Trump.” But he said he thinks his GOP colleagues might express their concerns to the president-elect behind closed doors.
“The power of the presidency, not to mention this president-elect, and what the retribution might be, I think, is pretty daunting, and so I think Republicans are reluctant to step forward and be the first one, but I think privately, they’re much readier to advise the President that the better part of wisdom would be to urge withdrawal of this nomination.”
“I’d be surprised if we’re still have talking about Hegseth at the end of the week or by Monday,” Blumenthal added.
Hegseth has been the subject of accusations of sexual assault stemming from a 2017 encounter that he says was consensual, as well as claims of being drunk at work and mismanagement of funds while running two veterans organizations.
Hegseth, however, was defiant on Wednesday, and has vowed to continue fighting for the nomination.
The Trump team, widely reported to have been blindsided by allegations of personal misconduct by Hegseth, is said to be considering other options to supplant Hegseth to lead the Pentagon.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that President-elect Trump was considering asking his old rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). The Associated Press reported one such possibility was moving Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) from his current nomination to be national security adviser to take the helm at the Pentagon instead.
