Several Republicans are waiting for the right moment to say no to Hegseth

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said Wednesday that he had spoken to several Republican colleagues who said they were “waiting for the right moment” to reject Pete Hegseth as a candidate to lead the Pentagon.

“I’ve talked to five to 10 Republicans who have told me they’re just waiting for the right moment to say ‘no’ to Pete Hegseth,” Blumenthal told reporters Wednesday. “And for very good reasons.”

Blumenthal said he believes Republicans are reluctant to publicly reject President-elect Trump’s nominee because “no one wants to oppose Donald Trump.” But he said he believed his GOP colleagues could voice their concerns to the president-elect behind closed doors.

“The power of the presidency, let alone this president-elect, and what the retaliation might look like, I think is pretty daunting, and so I think Republicans are hesitant to step forward and be first, but I think privately, They are much more willing to tell the president that it would be wiser to push for the withdrawal of this nomination.”

“I would be surprised if we were still talking about Hegseth at the end of the week or on Monday,” Blumenthal added.

Hegseth was charged with sexual assault in connection with what he said was a consensual encounter in 2017, as well as drunkenness on the job and mismanagement of funds while running two veterans organizations.

However, Hegseth appeared defiant on Wednesday and vowed to continue fighting for the nomination.

The Trump team, reportedly blindsided by allegations of personal misconduct by Hegseth, is reportedly considering other options to replace Hegseth as a candidate to lead the Pentagon.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that President-elect Trump is considering asking his old rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). The Associated Press reported that another option is to move Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Florida) from his current nomination as national security adviser and instead take the helm at the Pentagon.

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