Trump allies draw ‘red line’ at Hegseth, warning defeat would kneecap chances for other key nominees

The embattled nomination of Pete Hegseth for defense secretary has President-elect Donald Trump and allies working to hold the line on a second pick getting nixed or risk opening the floodgates for rejection of his unconventional nominees, including Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Mr. Hegseth, a retired Army major, veterans’ advocate and former Fox News host, pledged Thursday that he was “not going to back down” as he made the rounds on Capitol Hill for another day of interviews with senators. Accusations of past misconduct could lead Republicans to sink his nomination.

With his closest allies, the president-elect is focusing on getting Mr. Hegseth confirmed or at least forcing senators to vote on his nomination to stop what could become a cascade of rejections of Mr. Trump’s anti-establishment picks.

“Pete Hegseth is our red line,” said Charlie Kirk, whose Turning Point Action and associated foundation helped elect Mr. Trump. “There are a lot of Republican senators in the election cycle in 2026, and they should think twice before standing opposed to President Trump’s picks.”

Some Senate Republicans have registered skepticism about Mr. Kennedy’s nomination to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Mr. Kennedy has questioned the safety of vaccines and fluoridated water and has personal issues that include sexual misconduct allegations.

Mr. Trump’s pick of Ms. Gabbard, a former House member, to serve as director of national intelligence is also facing pushback. Some Senate Republicans question whether she has enough experience for the job.

A surrender by Mr. Hegseth “would absolutely embolden the sort of recalcitrant senators to continue to oppose President Trump’s nominees,” said Will Chamberlain, senior counsel at the judicial advocacy group Article III Project.

Senate Republicans, who will control the majority in January and could greenlight Mr. Trump’s picks without any Democratic votes, have forced out former Rep. Matt Gaetz.

The firebrand abandoned his nomination to become Mr. Trump’s attorney general last month after several party lawmakers made clear they would not back him because of sexual misconduct allegations.

Mr. Gaetz, who quit Congress last month amid an ethics inquiry, dropped out of the running after just a day of meetings with senators and without a single public hearing or a Senate floor vote.

Mr. Trump and his allies don’t want a repeat with Mr. Hegseth, who is struggling to win over up to a half-dozen skeptical Republicans.

“We need to make these senators vote because if they’re going to do this to a second nominee, that isn’t going to be fun for them,” Mr. Chamberlain said. “They’re going to feel the full pressure of the grassroots and that they’re going to have to stand up and put their vote on the record against President Trump’s defense secretary nominee.”

Some polls show Americans approve of Mr. Trump’s Cabinet picks after his sweeping victory on Nov. 5. At least one survey found a majority of Americans saying sexual misconduct allegations, a history of substance abuse or financial misconduct is disqualifying.

Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa is among the Senate Republicans casting doubt on confirming Mr. Hegseth because of reports of past misconduct. He was accused of sexual assault, infidelity in his first two marriages, financial mismanagement of veterans organizations he ran and excessive drinking around co-workers.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, is another Hegseth skeptic targeted by Trump allies. They say he opposes Mr. Hegseth because the nominee would attempt to overhaul the Pentagon.

Mr. Graham said his scrutiny of Mr. Hegseth had nothing to do with blocking Trump nominees who are non-establishment picks.

“It ain’t about slippery slopes,” Mr. Graham said. “It’s about those who fight and die for our country, that they are in good hands.”

Mr. Hegseth barnstormed Republican senators’ offices Thursday to defend himself and again make the case that he is up to leading a department with an $850 billion budget and more than 2 million military personnel.

Mr. Hegseth told reporters he has “done tough things in tough places.” He was referring to his deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, where he served in combat.

“And sometimes that changes you a little bit,” Mr. Hegseth said. “And by the grace of God and my Lord and Savior, I had an opportunity to come on up out of it and do great things with great veterans organizations that fought for vets and fought for reform at the [Department of Veterans Affairs] and for warfighters, and at the Fox News Channel to advocate for those various causes.”

Mr. Hegseth met with Sen. Mike Rounds, South Dakota Republican, who said afterward that he saw a path for the nominee to win confirmation.

Mr. Hegseth has pledged to some senators that he would not drink any alcohol if confirmed to the top Pentagon post.

Mr. Rounds defended the Senate scrutiny that has rankled Trump allies.

“We give the president the benefit of the doubt in building his team, but we also want to ask the questions that the public would ask and to be able to get those questions out so that the public has confidence that we’ve made the right choices as well,” Mr. Rounds said.