Hegseth’s fortunes rise, at least for now

After a bruising week of headlines about allegations of alcohol abuse and sexual misconduct, and the uphill battle he faces in the Senate, aides and allies of Donald Trump say Pete Hegseth is in a better position politically now than he was just 48 hours ago, when it was leaked that the president-elect was already coming up with a contingency plan to tap Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis should his preferred pick drop out.

That isn’t to say Hegseth is out of the woods. Multiple Republican senators have said the allegations against him are serious and deserve scrutiny. He has yet to meet with key GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine and some senators have indicated they are not ready to support Hegseth. But Trump’s advisers say they are optimistic that none have said “no” and Hegseth may benefit from some good timing.

On Thursday night, Trump attended the FOX Nation Patriot Awards in New York, where the president-elect heard praise for Hegseth from his colleagues. And Trump was pleased with Hegseth’s pledge to fight for his nomination on Capitol Hill earlier in the day.

By Friday morning, Trump — who has been quiet this week as Hegseth met with senators — publicly praised him with a post on Truth Social.

“Pete Hegseth is doing very well. His support is strong and deep,” Trump wrote.

Later, he said in an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker” that he hadn’t received any assurances from senators but still believed Hegseth would be confirmed.

“I’ve had a lot of senators call me up saying he’s fantastic,” Trump said in the interview scheduled to air Sunday.

Vice presidential nominee JD Vance echoed Trump’s support, writing on X, “Led by President Trump, we’re fighting for Pete Hegseth. …We’ve got his back.”

Vance reiterated his support while surveying hurricane damage in North Carolina on Friday.

“Pete Hegseth is going to get his hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, not a sham hearing before the American media. We believe that Pete Hegseth is the right guy to lead the Department of Defense,” he said. “We’re not abandoning this nomination.”

Trump is also scheduled to pre-tape his interview with Kristen Welker for NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Friday afternoon before flying to Paris for the reopening of Notre Dame. One Trump ally said they expected he would have the opportunity to express his support for Hegseth, providing a video clip that could help shield him from skeptics for at least a few days.

Meanwhile, Hegseth has been working to save himself in the media. He was notably the only Senate-confirmable candidate to sit down for an interview this week as it appeared he was making a last-ditch effort to salvage his chances and garner public support. And his own mother appeared on “Fox & Friends” as a character witness after The New York Times published a 2018 email she wrote blasting her son as an “abuser of women.” She said her son is now a “new man.”

Still, Trump’s allies and advisers are closing watching key senators — in particular female Republicans. While some, like Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), indicated they’re supporting Hegseth, others such as Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) have not yet decided.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) has been the most outwardly skeptical of Hegseth. Earlier this week she indicated to Trump that Hegseth would have a difficult time getting confirmed, according to two people familiar with their conversation. Her skepticism of Hegseth prompted a fierce pressure campaign from the right, with some even threatening to primary her when she is up for reelection in 2026. There is also a whisper campaign that she is trying to trip up Hegseth to get the Defense secretary role herself, which she has denied.

Notably on Friday morning, the Republican National Committee blasted out an op-ed written by Trump ally Brenna Bird, the attorney general of Iowa, that was viewed by some Republicans as a veiled primary threat.

“In recent days, it’s become clear that D.C. politicians think they can ignore the voices of their constituents and entertain smears from the same outlets that have pushed out lies for years,” Bird wrote.

But Ernst told RealClearPolitics she is not angling for Defense and she doesn’t “have a campaign against Pete.”

“I just want to make sure the process is able to play out and that we’re thoroughly vetting him. I do believe that Pete deserves to have a hearing. All the rumblings out there are absolutely false. My role as a senator is to make sure that we are putting to bed any rumors, any anonymous whatever,” she said.

One adviser to Trump predicted that if Hegseth gets to a committee hearing, he will survive. But another adviser said they are acutely aware that having yet another nominee for Trump drop out — after Matt Gaetz withdrew and the DEA nominee declined the nomination this week — would drive a new cycle of negative headlines about his Cabinet choices.“The grassroots isn’t going to tolerate another scalp,” said a Trump aligned operative.