Pete Hegseth may have the votes to be confirmed as defense secretary, insiders say

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is reported to have privately told President-elect Donald Trump that his nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, will have the votes to be confirmed in the Senate, according to inside sources familiar with the situation.

The news was reported by CBS News, which cited three inside sources.

However, a spokesman for Thune told the news network that "Two things we don't discuss publicly: Whip counts and private conversations with the president."

Thune, who took over the Republican leadership in the Senate succeeding veteran Mitch McConnell, and became the new majority leader in the upper chamber replacing Democrat Chuck Schumer, was cautious during an appearance on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan when asked about the more complicated nominations.

"I think these are nominees who are new enough, they've been going around and conducting their meetings, which I think, frankly, have gone very well, but they still have to make their case in front of the committee. And, you know, we don't know all the information about some of these nominees."

Hegseth's confirmation hearing is scheduled for next Jan. 14, according to Roger Wicker, chairman of Senate Armed Services.

Trump nominated Hegseth secretary of defense on Nov. 12, a week after the election. Since then, however, the former National Guard officer and TV host has faced a series of allegations of sexual misconduct and various scandals that he has consistently denied and has accused the media of orchestrating a witch hunt against him.

Hegseth's nomination is not President Trump's only difficult nomination.

By Jan. 13, former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's pick for the director of National Intelligence post, could have her confirmation hearing before Senate Intelligence alongside John Ratcliffe, the president-elect's pick to head the CIA.

Senate Republicans are attempting to finalize most of the confirmation hearings related to Homeland Security by the time Trump takes office on January 20, so they can move to the Senate as soon as possible, but that will depend a lot on the cooperation of the Democrats, who will possibly try to delay the processes both in the hearings and on the floor.