Dem
47
GOP
53
If and when the Pete Hegseth nomination is withdrawn (see above), then Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is apparently the current frontrunner to be the next man up. In view of this, John Fetterman decided to get in a little trolling, announcing that his vote for confirmation is available, but only if the Governor will admit he wears lifts.
That's the current schadenfreude, but what we really want to talk about is some potential long-term schadenfreude. The fact that DeSantis is "back," and may be on the cusp of taking over one of the most important positions in the federal government, has quite a few pundits talking about how he has magically risen from the dead. To take one example, there's this piece from Politico headlined "Ron DeSantis' political future looked bleak a year ago. Not anymore."
To that, we would say "not so fast," for three reasons. First, DeSantis isn't actually the Secretary of Defense yet. That job is just vaporware right now, since Hegseth hasn't yet withdrawn and DeSantis hasn't yet been nominated. While it's nice to be the supposed frontrunner, it is also the case that many Trump allies hate DeSantis. And we all know that Trump tends to act based upon the last person who bent his ear.
Second, even if DeSantis does get the job, we foresee a rocky road ahead. Trump's priority will be score-settling and/or achieving his MAGA agenda. DeSantis' priority will be preserving his own hide, and setting himself up for a future presidential run. The Governor is more than willing to prostitute himself for Trump in some ways, but they may not be the right ways. And, by the way, Trump doesn't really like DeSantis, either. The Governor would be a prime candidate for scapegoating and/or early termination. In fact, we would not put it past Trump to nominate DeSantis, get a confirmation, have DeSantis resign as governor, and then quickly boot him to show who's really boss. And even if everything goes swimmingly, we don't see Trump designating DeSantis as his preferred successor, and heir to the MAGA throne.
Finally, let us recall that DeSantis looks like a heckuva candidate when he's hanging out in the governor's mansion and/or posing for photo ops. The wheels fall off when he actually has to speak in public, and when he actually has to engage with the hoi polloi. The Governor has spent the last year doing the former, and not the latter. In 2028, it would be mostly the latter, and not the former. We see no reason to believe he'd be less nasally, or less of a cold fish, in 2028 than he was in 2024.
The upshot is that DeSantis' presidential campaign ended in humiliating fashion and, even if he is having a "moment" right now, we foresee additional humiliations in the future. We just don't know quite what form they will take. Also, when Hegseth finally is instructed to fall on his sword, Republican senators may tell Trump that Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) would be confirmed with ease and universal praise, so he could pick her. (Z)