Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Over the last 24 hours, Donald Trump lost his pick to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration. His choice for Defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, is struggling to gain support from Senate Republicans. The president-elect is now even considering his one-time rival, Gov. Ron DeSantis, to lead the Pentagon.<\/p>\n
And these shake-ups to his not-yet-formed administration come after former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration as Trump\u2019s choice for attorney general.<\/p>\n
All told, the setbacks are raising new questions about Trump\u2019s power over his party, whether Republicans would submit to any and all of his demands \u2014 and the expectation that his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, would bring order to Trump\u2019s transition and White House.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Chad Chronister, Trump\u2019s choice for DEA administrator, abruptly withdrew from consideration<\/a> just days after being announced, saying in a post on X he made the decision \u201cas the gravity of this very important responsibility set in,\u201d without citing a specific reason. Chronister, a county sheriff in Florida, had drawn criticism from some conservatives over his actions during the Covid-19 pandemic but was not seen as one of Trump\u2019s more controversial administration picks.<\/p>\n He was the second Trump nominee to drop out of consideration in as many weeks, following Gaetz\u2019s brief, whiplash-inducing candidacy, which thrust Capitol Hill into chaos over a sealed ethics report into the former Florida congressman. Trump ultimately replaced Gaetz with former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.<\/p>\n And now, as new reports come out about Hegseth that could further impede his confirmation by the Senate \u2014 including allegations of sexual assault and alcohol abuse<\/a> \u2014 Trump is considering dropping the former Fox host and installing another Florida man<\/a>: his, and Wiles\u2019, old foe DeSantis.<\/p>\n Hegseth took to Capitol Hill<\/a> on Wednesday to meet with Senate Republicans, including the chamber\u2019s incoming leadership and Sen. Joni Ernst, who is seen as a potential swing vote on his nomination. He told reporters he was still in the race<\/a> \u2014 and that Trump himself had told him to \u201ckeep fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy would I back down? I\u2019ve always been a fighter,\u201d Hegseth said.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s thinking on potentially replacing Hegseth with DeSantis was first reported by the Wall Street Journal<\/a>. Trump has also floated other names, including Ernst, a Senate Armed Services Committee member and sexual assault survivor, and Elbridge Colby, a Trump ally and former Pentagon official, according to the Journal. <\/p>\n Swapping Hegseth for DeSantis could be politically savvy for Trump: DeSantis is a rising star in the party who, as governor, likely has far fewer skeletons in his closet than Trump\u2019s other, more controversial picks. But it would also sting for Trump, who sparred publicly with DeSantis during his shortlived GOP primary campaign \u2014 which Wiles is credited with obliterating as part of a longstanding feud<\/a>.<\/p>\n A Trump transition spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n