Trump ally warns of 'feeding frenzy' among Senate Republicans if he fails to confirm Hegseth

The fate of President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet could end up being decided by whether Fox News personality Pete Hegseth survives his own confirmation battle next month.

According to the Washington Post, Trump may have to spend more political capital than he hoped to in order to get Hegseth across the finish line due to the implications of his defense secretary-designate failing to get 51 Senate votes. Anti-Trump Republicans in the U.S. Senate could use Hegseth's potential failure to seize on some of the president-elect's other more controversial nominees, like Director of National Intelligence-designate Tulsi Gabbard and Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“If Hegseth gets pulled, it will weaken Trump’s standing with Senate Republicans and only embolden anti-Trump Republican senators to try to tank his other nominees that they don’t like,” an unnamed Trump ally anonymously told the Post. “It will be a feeding frenzy.”

READ MORE: 'I cannot stay silent': Pete Hegseth's mother condemns his 'abusive behavior' against women

“It’s clear the president has chosen not to express out loud his every thought, which is a good thing,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said when asked about how Trump's process for announcing members of his second administration compared to his first term. “I think he’s learned that, as president, you don’t have to always say it. And I think that’s a good thing. Obviously, his picks have been less traditional, and we’ll see how it turns out.”

Trump recently made a public endorsement of Hegseth as the Fox News host continues to be dogged by both a sexual assault accusation from 2017 and a blistering report in which 10 of his current and former colleagues told NBC News he frequently showed up to work intoxicated. His own mother also called him an "abusive" womanizer with a "lack of character" in a 2018 email unearthed by the New York Times. One unnamed Trump advisor told the paper that the transition team likened the battle to confirm Hegseth as "smashmouth football."

“We’re doing everything we can do to defend Pete. We’re doing everything we can do to let everyone know he has an exceptional background and the experience to do this job," the advisor said. "We’re doing everything we can to make sure we’re fighting tooth and nail to push back on all the stories and all the negativity.”

The president-elect suffered a high-profile defeat when his first nominee to lead the Department of Justice — former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) withdrew his name from consideration just eight days after he was announced. And Chad Chronister, a Florida law enforcement official Trump tapped to lead the Drug Enforcement Agency, also withdrew his name after saying he realized the "gravity" of the position. Trump maintains that Chronister's withdrawal was the president-elect's decision, based on his past comments about Trump.

READ MORE: 'Acted like the rules didn't apply': Hegseth's coworkers say he often showed up drunk on set

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