Trump contemplates choosing former rival as surprise replacement for embattled nominee for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth.

Donald Trump is reportedly considering an 11th hour move to flip out controversial Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth for friend-turned-rival Ron DeSantis. 

The choice of former Fox News host Hegseth to lead the Defense Department is battling a tricky confirmation after past allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive drinking resurfaced.

Now, The Wall Street Journal is citing multiple people close to the Trump camp that DeSantis – who ran against Trump in the Republican Primary before dropping out – is the choice to replace Hegseth in his Cabinet. 

The proposal has been sent to DeSantis in recent days, according to one insider.  

DeSantis is a Navy veteran who brings many of the same conservative bona fides as Hegseth, all while being one of the more popular Republican elected officials and going largely scandal-free during his two terms running the Sunshine State. 

The governor, who was on the original list from which Hegseth was chosen, also likely shares the values of Hegseth, who has called to rid the military of so-called ‘woke’ policies.

Those in Trump’s inner circle believe Hegseth’s continued controversy – he’s also dealing with fallout after past comments that women shouldn’t hold military combat roles – are hampering the nomination as he tries to win Senate support. 

Trump could still turn elsewhere to replace Hegseth if the nomination falls apart, with those close to the president-elect saying the next 48 hours are ‘crucial to his fate.’ 

The allies turned enemies were both seen Tuesday at the funeral for a deceased police officer in Palm Beach County. 

DeSantis, who is term-limited out of the Florida governor’s office after the 2026 election, has yet to comment on the rumors.  

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Trump-Vance transition team for comment. 

Hegseth has been absolutely mobbed by a entourage of reporters hounding him with questions as he walks throughout the Capitol this week for meetings with lawmakers. 

Trump’s pick for Defense Secretary is lobbying senators for confirmation when his nomination reaches a vote next year. 

After former Rep. Matt Gaetz took his name out of the running for Trump’s Attorney General last month, all eyes turned to the next most controversial pick – Hegseth.

He claims that while women have a place in the military he doesn’t think they belong in special operations, artillery, infantry or armor units. 

The future nominee also was confronted today with repeated questions over the last two days about a report claiming he was forced out of leadership roles with a veterans group because of excessive drinking.

‘Were you ever drunk while traveling on the job?’ a reporter asked Hegseth while he was walking through the Capitol on Monday.

‘I’m not going to dignify that with a response,’ Hegseth replied.

He also ignored other questions shouted at him regarding this recent reporting.

The Pentagon pick is facing the fallout after the New Yorker alleged in a report this week that he was intoxicated ‘to the point of needing to be carried out of the organization’s events’ on multiple occasions when he was CEO of Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) between 2013 and 2016. 

Hegseth did ‘occasionally’ have too much to drink at CVA events and previously acknowledged he ‘drank too much,’ a source close to him told CBS. 

But they insist the report about Hegseth’s behavior is false.

‘The idea that a veterans organization of combat veterans who’d recently transitioned out of the military would drink or have too much to drink, that’s not news,’ the individual said. 

‘That’s not the kind of life that Pete lives right now,’ they added of the development in character. ‘He certainly has matured a lot in the past decade.’

Hegseth is already a controversial pick, with many Democrats claiming they oppose his nomination for a lack of experience and for some outlandish views.

That includes saying on a podcast that he doesn’t believe women in the armed services should serve in combat.

With Republicans regaining control of the Senate next month, it’s very likely most of Trump’s picks will earn the simple majority needed to ascend to their respective positions.

DeSantis ran against Trump for the Republican nomination in 2024, before dropping out on January 21 after a lackluster finish in Iowa and endorsed the former president. 

However, the Florida chief executive still expressed skepticism about Trump, having said he has ‘too much baggage’ to run as Trump’s vice president and saying some Republicans will never vote for him.

On the other side, Trump ran scorched earth against DeSantis – or ‘DeSanctimonius’ as he referred to him on the trail – and his donors have expressed fury over the governor’s criticism. 

DeSantis – whom Trump shot into the stratosphere with a 2018 endorsement for governor – requested a meeting with Trump in April in Miami in an attempt to make nice against their common foe – Biden. 

The Florida Governor, widely considered the future of the Republican party and initially the favorite to take down Trump after he was reelected in 2022, announced he was suspending his campaign in a surprise video in late January. 

It followed mounting speculation that donors were fleeing and his campaign was struggling to find a path to make a dent in Trump’s huge polling lead.

His final warning was for Republicans not to go ‘back to yesteryear’ and confirmed he would support Trump, the opponent who has mocked and humiliated him for the last year.

Despite repeatedly bashing Trump for refusing to debate in the primary cycle and taking several hits from the ex-president calling him ‘Ron DeSanctimonious,’ the governor decided to endorse his former rival. 

Trump said during an unannounced stop at his New Hampshire campaign headquarters that after DeSantis’ announcement he has ‘officially retired’ the ‘DeSanctimonious’ nickname. 

Throughout the campaign, Trump called DeSantis a ‘traitor’ for deciding to run for president in 2024 after the former president’s endorsement is what led him to clinch the Republican nomination for governor in Florida in 2018.

‘It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,’ DeSantis said. ‘They watch his presidency gets stymied by relentless resistance, and they see Democrats using lawfare this day to attack him.’

He added: ‘Trump is superior to the current incumbent Joe Biden. That is clear.’

‘I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee, and I will honor that pledge.’

The pledge in question is what the Republican National Committee required all candidates to sign, vowing to support the eventual nominee if they wanted to participate in their four primary debates last year. Trump never signed the pledge and refused to show up for the debates. 

‘[W]e are honored by the endorsement from Governor Ron DeSantis and so many other former presidential candidates,’ Trump’s campaign wrote in a statement.