Why the Senate is tying up Pete Hegseth's Sec Def nomination

And how it could backfire spectacularly.

As a longtime foreign policy and national security reporter, I’ve been inundated with inquiries about the Pete Hegseth Secretary of Defense nomination and his campaign to win over the Senate before confirmation hearings.

So why are many senators putting on a show with the Hegseth nomination?

I spent way too much time in D.C., and I know how the bread is buttered in the Senate and the Pentagon, having covered both institutions extensively. Here are some things to think about:

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1) There’s blood in the water

After shocking the country by nominating the decorated veteran and Fox News, the president-elect initially came out to bat strongly for Pete Hegseth. In recent days, however, something has changed. Some of the president’s advisers and associates have alluded to the idea that Hegseth wasn’t forthcoming about some stuff involving his vetting process.

For his part, the president-elect is now more restrained in his support for Hegseth. It appears he now wants him to prove himself in Washington before publicly going to bat for the combat vet, urging Hegseth to “fight” for his post.

Of course, the Senate is tuned into these developments, and they won’t pass up an opportunity to advance their priorities. Knowing that the Hegseth nomination might be on the ropes, senators smell blood in the water and have become hesitant to embrace the SecDef nominee.

2) They sense an opening to fill the slot with a more lobbyist-friendly SecDef

Without a doubt, Pete Hegseth would be an unbelievable change agent at the Department of Defense, a massive, sprawling agency that is both vitally important to U.S. interests and also a bureaucratic, bloated mess. For senators who are strongly aligned with the defense/military industry, this potentially presents a threat to their network, and it will not be welcomed by the institutional players in the space.

To get a sense of Pete Hegseth’s priorities at DOD, you should take the time to watch some of his interview with Shawn Ryan.

This is a candidate who, like the president-elect, feels emboldened with a heartfelt mission to be a change agent. The political establishment is never friendly to change agents, especially those who cast away their sacred cows.

3) They want their position of power to be acknowledged

The Senate is a place of great esteem and even bigger egos. While for the public, it might seem annoying to make the president’s candidate go through the rounds of private meetings and Q&As with dozens of politicians, for the senators, it is a process through which they take great pride. Senators are carving out their turf in the D.C. power structure, and they want the candidate to “know his place.”

4) They want to establish leverage

The confirmation vote may come down to a couple of decisive votes. That puts some senators in quite an advantageous position, knowing that they have the power to either make trouble or clear the way.

5) They are getting a feel for whether Hegseth will accommodate their priorities at the DOD

Speaking of leverage, there are one hundred senators with one hundred different priorities for the national defense and the major corporations that rely on big contracts with the Defense Department. They will surely test the Fox News host to see if he is willing to play ball.

One more thing

I find it very interesting that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been floated as a potential replacement for Hegseth should the president-elect sour on his initial pick.

This could be interpreted in a couple of ways.

For one, it could serve to bolster Hegseth’s nomination with the senate, knowing another change agent would be his replacement, and not someone like Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who would be more accommodating to the political establishment.

Or is the president-elect truly on the fence about Hegseth, is worried about Senate confirmation hearings, and wants to secure a more thoroughly vetted candidate for the job?

We shall see.