Both Tennessee U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty have confirmed they will vote to confirm Pete Hegseth, who President-elect Donald Trump nominated to serve as his Secretary of Defense.
Blackburn and Hagerty both said they will vote to confirm Hegseth, with Hagerty declaring Trump’s nominee has the “momentum” to be confirmed when interviewed by CNN on Wednesday.
Predicting Hegseth will be buoyed by his potential to restore confidence in the Pentagon and end the crisis in recruitment and retention faced by the military, Hagerty told the outlet, “I think that support is going to continue to grow, and the momentum is with Pete right now.”
The Tennessee senator also threw cold water on those suggesting Trump could pull his nomination of Hegseth in favor of Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida.
“I think it’s totally not constructive,” Hagerty told CNN. “What everybody needs to do is get behind President Trump’s nominee. We need to move this thing forward as quickly and expeditiously as we can because we need to be ready for President Trump to hit the ground running with the team he wants on day one.”
Hagerty added in a post to the social media platform X that opposition to Hegseth is driven by a Washingtonian desire to stymie Trump’s agenda.
“The American people overwhelmingly sent President Trump to change Washington,” wrote Hagerty. “Washington doesn’t want to change. That’s why we’re seeing these smear attacks against his nominees.”
The American people overwhelmingly sent President Trump to change Washington.
Washington doesn’t want to change.
That’s why we’re seeing these smear attacks against his nominees. pic.twitter.com/WokNfnpkmw
— Senator Bill Hagerty (@SenatorHagerty) December 4, 2024
Hagerty’s endorsement follows Blackburn’s post to X on Monday, when she described Hegseth as “an outstanding choice for Secretary of Defense” after meeting with Trump’s nominee. Blackburn wrote, “I am confident he will bolster our military and make an excellent addition to the Trump administration.”
Blackburn expanded on her support in a Tuesday appearance on “Mornings with Maria,” telling host the network, “He gets this. He has experience, not only as a war fighter, but in business and in messaging. He is a perfect fit to come in and reorganize, work with a team and reorganize the Department of Defense so we do achieve peace through strength.”
Both Blackburn and Hagerty similarly expressed support for Kash Patel, the president-elect’s nominee to lead the FBI, with Blackburn predicting Patel will preside over an era of transparency at the government agency.
Hagerty recently suggested Trump is selecting cabinet members based on their ability to enact policies set by the Trump and White House, telling ABC News, “I fully expect everybody coming into the cabinet will listen to President Trump, they’ll let him set the policy, and they’ll execute according to that plan.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Pete Hegseth Meets with the Republican Study Committee” by RCS.
