A former Republican aide suggested that Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s embattled defense secretary pick, is a “zombie nominee” stumbling around Capitol Hill in a pointless bid to win support from senators, unwilling to admit his candidacy is dead.
MSNBC analyst Elise Jordan, previously a speechwriter for George W. Bush’s presidential administration, said during a Friday appearance on Morning Joe that she doesn’t see a way that the former Fox News host could be confirmed by the Senate.
While Hegseth has faced a flood of potential sticking points for his nomination—including concerns about his qualifications, a sexual assault allegation, reports of alcohol abuse, and a track record of opposing women in combat roles—Trump has continued to publicly stand by him, despite reports that he is considering other candidates to replace Hegseth.
Jordan said she thought Trump would let Hegseth, who has continued to campaign for senators’ support, continue to “hang on” for the time being, but doesn’t see him actually winding up in the position.
“Pete Hegseth is like a zombie nominee,” she said. “He is wandering around. He’s still in the game, but is he really alive? No one is quite sure. It is very hard to imagine [Senators] Tammy Duckworth and Joni Ernst signing off on someone who has said the things about women in combat that Pete Hegseth said.”
“The sexual assault allegations aside,” Jordan continued, “the fact that Pete Hegseth is saying he’s going to quit drinking if he becomes secretary, that’s just outrageous. That’s what the background checks screen for—people who do not have substance abuse problems, because they can be easily blackmailed.”
Multiple bombshell reports have added to Hegseth’s woes since Trump first dropped jaws across the political aisle by announcing the former national guardsman as his pick to head the Department of Defense.
First, news broke in November of a sexual assault allegation against Hegseth and that he had paid the accuser to keep the situation quiet—a revelation which reportedly caught the president-elect by surprise. Hegseth has denied the sexual assault allegations.
Last week, The New York Times published an email that Hegseth’s mother had written to him accusing him of mistreating “many” women.
Nevertheless, Hegseth has been on a blitz to keep his nomination alive. He has been meeting with senators on Capitol Hill every day this week, and his mother pleaded his case during a Wednesday appearance on Fox News.
