In the last 24 hours, Donald Trump lost his election to head the DEA. His nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, is struggling to win support from Senate Republicans. The president-elect is now even considering his former rival, Governor Ron DeSantis, to lead the Pentagon.
And these changes to his yet-to-be-formed administration come after former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his consideration as Trump’s nominee for attorney general.
Taken together, the setbacks are raising new questions about Trump’s power over his party, whether Republicans would bow to his every demand and the expectation that his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, will bring order to Trump’s transition. Trump and in the White House.
On Tuesday, Chad Chronister, Trump’s pick for DEA administrator, abruptly withdrew from consideration just days after being announced, saying in a post on important was established,” without citing a specific reason. . Chronister, a Florida county sheriff, had received criticism from some conservatives for his actions during the Covid-19 pandemic, but was not seen as one of the Trump administration’s most controversial picks.
He was the second Trump nominee to drop out of consideration in as many weeks, following Gaetz’s brief and traumatic candidacy, which plunged the Capitol into chaos over a sealed ethics report on the former Florida congressman. Trump eventually replaced Gaetz with former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.
And now, as new reports emerge about Hegseth that could further impede his Senate confirmation, including allegations of sexual assault and alcohol abuse – Trump is considering firing the former Fox host and installing another Florida man: his and Wiles’ old enemy, DeSantis.
That pick 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’s other, more controversial picks. But it would also hurt Trump, who publicly clashed with DeSantis during his brief Republican primary campaign, which Wiles is credited with destroying as part of a long-running feud.
A Trump transition spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.