President-elect Donald Trump is weighing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a potential replacement for Pentagon nominee Pete Hegseth, according to people familiar with the discussions who spoke to The Wall Street Journal, marking a dramatic potential reconciliation with his former primary rival amid growing Republican concerns over allegations about Hegseth's personal conduct.
The consideration of DeSantis, who served as a Navy lawyer in Iraq and at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, represents an extraordinary turn in Trump's relationship with the Florida governor. Sources familiar with the transition team's deliberations told The Wall Street Journal that DeSantis was included on an earlier list of potential defense secretary candidates before Trump ultimately selected Hegseth.
In a special interview with Israel Hayom during the GOP presidential primaries, the then-Trump rival said Israel's "claim to Judea and Samaria is most superior" and called Biden's treatment of Netanyahu "a disgrace." On Iran, he said, "You can't try to cozy up to them. It just doesn't work. So we would be supportive of Israel's predicament. And obviously, we would have a much stronger posture against Iran."
Trump's team considers the next 48 hours crucial for Hegseth's nomination, according to people close to the president-elect's team who spoke with the WSJ. The discussions about DeSantis are in their early stages, with Trump floating the governor's name in casual conversations with guests at Mar-a-Lago, his private Florida club.
Other potential candidates under consideration include Elbridge Colby, a former Pentagon official and ally of Vice President-elect JD Vance, and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Wall Street Journal.
The idea has been presented to DeSantis in recent days, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Trump and DeSantis both attended a Tuesday memorial service for fallen law enforcement officers in Palm Beach County, Fla. A spokesman for DeSantis didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The potential nomination could have significant implications for Florida politics, as DeSantis is already preparing to name an interim replacement for Sen. Marco Rubio, whom Trump has nominated as secretary of state. Trump allies have been advocating for Lara Trump, the president-elect's daughter-in-law and recently elected Republican National Committee co-chair, to fill Rubio's seat.
DeSantis's consideration comes as Hegseth faces mounting scrutiny over multiple allegations. A 2017 sexual assault allegation, which he later paid his accuser to keep secret, caught Trump transition officials off guard. The 22-page police report, which includes video surveillance footage and witness interviews, details the events of Oct. 7, 2017. The investigation began after the woman sought a sexual assault examination at a clinic four days after the encounter, telling the nurse she suspected her drink had been tampered with.
While no charges were filed against Hegseth, who was then rising at Fox News, he later paid the woman as part of a nondisclosure agreement in 2020, his lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, confirmed to The Wall Street Journal.
Further complications arose when The New York Times reported on an email from Hegseth's mother during his 2018 divorce, in which she wrote, "You are an abuser of women." The Times noted that his mother immediately apologized for the email.
The transition team has already faced setbacks with other nominations, including failed attempts to install Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida as attorney general and the withdrawal of Trump's choice to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration following conservative criticism over a 2020 arrest of a pastor who defied COVID-19 restrictions.
