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Trump Prepares To Pull Out The Rug On Hegseth

The presumptive nomination of Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense appears to be swirling down the toilet amid reports that Donald Trump is considering replacing him with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) – and has already spoken to DeSantis about the role.

With Hegseth’s confidential sexual assault settlement that he didn’t disclose to the Trump transition team, the multiple reports of his public drunkenness in previous jobs, and an old email from his own mother denouncing his chronic mistreatment of women, the real black mark here is on Trump for nominating Hegseth in the first place. Duh.

Let’s run through the particulars:

Hegseth Out? DeSantis In?

The WSJ was first to report last evening that Trump was “considering” replacing Hegseth with DeSantis, citing “people familiar.” Politico and NYT followed with similar reporting. The Bulwark is reporting this morning that Trump and DeSantis have “personally discussed” the top Pentagon spot: “The talks, relayed by four sources briefed on them, are in their advanced stages.”

GOP Senators Signaling Hegseth Can’t Be Confirmed

The writing is already on the wall on Capitol Hill. How could it not be given the array of allegations against Hegseth on top of his total lack of experience and general callowness? Here’s the latest:

• “As many as six Senate Republicans, perhaps more, are currently not comfortable supporting Hegseth’s bid to lead the Pentagon as new revelations about his past continue to be made public, three Republican sources with direct knowledge of his nomination process said.”–NBC News
• “One Senate Republican, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations, said that Hegseth would have a “hard time” getting confirmed and described some members as ‘wild cards.'”–WaPo
• “No Republicans have said they will not support Hegseth, but even some of the GOP senators closest to Trump, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, are now wondering whether Hegseth can survive the tightrope walk to confirmation, sending an ominous signal for the incoming White House.”–CNN
• “He is in a deep hole with Republican senators, one GOP official told us, and there is rising doubt inside the transition that he will be able to dig his way out — particularly with the women senators who are his biggest skeptics.”–Playbook

The Hits Keep On Coming

• Hegseth’s drinking concerned his colleagues at Fox News, according to a new report from NBC News:

Two of those people said that on more than a dozen occasions during Hegseth’s time as a co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekend,” which began in 2017, they smelled alcohol on him before he went on air. Those same two people, plus another, said that during his time there he appeared on television after they’d heard him talk about being hungover as he was getting ready or on set. …

Three current employees said his drinking remained a concern up until Trump announced him as his choice to run the Pentagon, at which point Hegseth left Fox.

• Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman reports on the first of Hegseth’s three marriages, which Sherman’s sources said included serial infidelity by Hegseth.

Trump’s Easiest Way Out

Hegseth’s failure to alert the Trump transition to his settlement of a 2017 sexual assault allegation has always seemed like a potent leverage point for scuttling the nomination. Deceiving the boss ain’t a good look in general, but in the upside-down Trump world it also gives Trump a way to kick Hegseth to the curb without having to give credence to the underlying allegations.

“Mr. Trump has made clear to people close to him that he believes Mr. Hegseth should have been more forthcoming about the problems he would face getting confirmed, according to two people with knowledge of his thinking,” the NYT reports.

Trump II Clown Show

• Florida Sheriff Chad Chronister withdrew as Trump’s presumptive nominee for DEA administrator after criticism from the right over his strict enforcement of COVID restrictions early in the pandemic.
• “President-elect Donald Trump offered billionaire investor Stephen Feinberg the job of deputy defense secretary, said people familiar with the matter, a decision that could elevate a longtime political supporter with investments in defense companies that maintain lucrative Pentagon contracts.”–WaPo
• Aaron Blake: It’s not just Kash Patel. Many Trump picks have suggested retribution.

Did Trump Really Agree To FBI Background Checks?

The Trump transition announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Justice Department to submit nominees to the FBI for background checks – but it’s not at all clear whether this means all nominees will be vetted in this manner:

• “Despite the signing of the agreement, it remains unclear whether Mr. Trump’s team plans to send the names of all officials requiring a security clearance or Senate confirmation to the F.B.I. for vetting. The announcement did not say whether Mr. Trump would require his appointees to undergo the process or was simply allowing the F.B.I. to begin looking at those who are willing to submit to its scrutiny.”–NYT
• “Some of Trump’s Cabinet nominees are opposed to submitting themselves to an FBI check until the bureau is revamped by his chosen director, two sources close to the transition team told Semafor. In addition, as of Tuesday the Trump transition team was still looking into tapping into the private sector to conduct background checks on some of its nominees.”–Semafor

Corruption Watch

“Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun invested $30 million in President-elect Donald Trump’s crypto project three weeks after the election, helping Trump make a potentially hefty profit.”–WaPo

Hunter Biden Judge Slams Pardon

U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi, overseeing the federal tax case against Hunter Biden in California, recognized the efficacy of President Biden’s pardon of his son but not before delivering a sharp rebuke to the president.

Today To The Supreme Court: Transgender Rights

TPM’s Kate Riga previews the Supreme Court oral arguments today over a Tennessee law that bans gender-affirming care for minors. Follow along with Kate’s live-blogging of the oral arguments at 10 a.m. ET.

Cry Me A River

Mitch McConnell cries foul after two Democratic federal judges cancel their retirement plans after Trump’s election victory.

Good Read

WSJ: The Israeli Investigator Who Delivered Dirt on Exxon’s Enemies

A 102-Second Meditation

The winners and runners-up in the Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition for scientific images:

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A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.

See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil

As the Senate returned Monday evening from the holiday recess, Republican senators voiced little to no concern over Donald Trump’s corrupt plan to fire FBI Director Chris Wray and showed no signs of being ready to torpedo Kash Patel’s presumptive nomination as Wray’s replacement.

Even GOP senators who might be expected to sound some feeble caution – Thom Tillis (R-NC), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and Susan Collins (R-ME) – offered no reservations and expressed confidence in Patel’s prospects for confirmation.

Patel’s Particulars

• “The Patel Paradox can be stated as follows: the only reason to nominate someone like Patel to run the FBI is to commit impeachable abuses of power. Trump makes no secret that this is, in fact, his purpose. Patel is similarly explicit on the point.”–Benjamin Wittes 
• Roger Parloff offers a glimpse of Kash Patel from a witness in the Mar-a-Lago documents case.
• “To understand the full scope of the damage Mr. Patel could inflict, you have to understand how unique, powerful and dangerous the F.B.I. can be — and why a Patel directorship would likely corrupt and bend the institution for decades, even if he only served a few years.”–Garrett Graff

Making A List And Checking It Twice

Who’s been naughty or nice to Kash Patel:

Here’s Kash Patel’s full Deep State enemies list, which by my count includes 17 Trump administration political appointees from his first term

[image or embed]

— Eric Columbus (@ericcolumbus.bsky.social) December 2, 2024 at 2:35 PM

Quote Of The Day

“He’s absolutely unqualified for this job. He’s untrustworthy. It’s an absolute disgrace to American citizens to even consider an individual of this nature.”–Charles Kupperman, Trump’s first-term deputy national security adviser, on Kash Patel’s presumptive nomination as FBI director

Hegseth Nomination Watch: ‘Wild Childs’ Edition

Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s embattled nominee for secretary of defense, was on the Hill meeting with senators Monday amid allegations of sexual misconduct, public drunkenness on the job, and financial mismanagement.

The excuse of the day belonged to Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY): “Are soldiers sometimes wild childs? Yeah, that can happen.” 

• NBC News: Republican senators brush aside Pete Hegseth misconduct allegations after meeting with him
• The Daily Beast: Pete Hegseth Faces Reporters on Capitol Hill Asking if He Has A Drinking Problem
• CNN: Fox News ignores misconduct allegations against former Fox News host Pete Hegseth as concerns over Trump pick mount

Trump II Clown Show

• Mother Jones: Trump’s New Press Secretary Was Paid for Articles Praising a Con Man
• NYT: Project 2025, Mar-a-Lago and Fox News: What Connects Trump’s New Staff Picks
• WSJ: How RFK Jr. Transformed From Green Hero to Vaccine Skeptic
• NYT: How Kennedy Has Worked Abroad to Weaken Global Public Health Policy

Trump’s Future Transgressions Will Be Biden’s Fault

The Hunter Biden pardon has uncorked another round of excusing Donald Trump for his own transgressions – including yet-to-be-committed future transgressions:

• WaPo: Biden pardon will “provide ammunition” to Trump.
• Politico: The Hunter Biden pardon gives Donald Trump powerful new political cover
• The Guardian: Trump uses Hunter Biden pardon to hint potential clemency for January 6 insurrectionists

The Hunter Biden pardon can be reasonably criticized, but the idea that Trump needs political cover, fresh ideas for transgressions, or new precedents from Biden fails to grasp Trump. It’s fear-based analysis that anticipates what the bully will do and blames the victim for bringing it on himself.

Trump has already abused the pardon power in unprecedented ways to protect himself, plans to abuse it again in the future, and promised throughout his campaign to undermine the rule of law by wrecking the Justice Department and federal law enforcement.

Detect A Pattern?

The notion of “legacy” is one of the conventional tropes of political journalism that lets reporters judge some presidents against an imaginary and illusory standard:

• WSJ: Biden Pardon Threatens His Legacy—and Democrats’ Fight Against Trump
• NYT: Pardoning Hunter Complicates the Legacy That Biden Envisioned
• Politico: Biden risks sullying his legacy to protect Hunter

“Legacy” is a classic second-day analysis piece, the subtext of which is the president’s hypocrisy for failing to meet their own standards. By not having any standards, Trump often escapes this trope.

Inside SCOTUS’ Failed Effort To Hold Itself Accountable

The NYT draws on internal Supreme Court memos and interviews to piece together the desultory effort to adopt an unenforceable ethics code for the justices:

Justice Gorsuch was especially vocal in opposing any enforcement mechanism beyond voluntary compliance, arguing that additional measures could undermine the court. The justices’ strength was their independence, he said, and he vowed to have no part in diminishing it.

In the private exchanges, Justice Clarence Thomas, whose decision not to disclose decades of gifts and luxury vacations from wealthy benefactors had sparked the ethics controversy, and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote off the court’s critics as politically motivated and unappeasable.

The three liberal justices insisted that the rules needed to be more than lofty promises. But their argument never had a chance.

Trump’s Looming Deregulation Fiesta

TPM’s Kate Riga: “Monday’s oral arguments on the Food and Drug Administration’s rejection of a new flavored vape was, and felt like, a lame-duck exercise — a challenge against an agency regulation that may well evaporate as soon as President-elect Donald Trump takes power.”

In The States …

• North Carolina: The GOP-controlled state Senate voted to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of their big lame duck power grab. The GOP-controlled House will vote on the veto override later this month.
• Wisconsin: “Wisconsin public worker and teachers unions scored a major legal victory Monday with a ruling that restores collective bargaining rights they lost under a 2011 state law that sparked weeks of protests and made the state the center of the national battle over union rights.”–AP
• WSJ: Blue States Are Bracing for Legal Clashes With Trump

For The Record

The Army general who was last American soldier to leave Afghanistan was given a fourth star after Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) lifted a hold on his promotion.

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