Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has reportedly told President-elect Donald Trump that Pete Hegseth will have enough votes to be confirmed as Secretary of Defense, according to a report from CBS News.
The information comes from three sources that are familiar with the development.
A Thune spokesman did not confirm the report, telling CBS, “Two things we don’t discuss publicly: Whip counts and private conversations with the president.”
Thune told Margaret Brennan of “Face the Nation” that President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks will have the “opportunity to make their case, answer the hard questions that inevitably are going to come, and perform the role that the Senate has in terms of advice and consent.”
“And I think that, you know, his picks are going to come through a process where, if they get reported out of the committee, come across the floor of the Senate, we’ll make sure that they get the- the vote,” he added. “And I think that- I suspect a lot of them will get through. And- and we’ll see about all of them. Remains to be seen, but I think that’s why we have the process, and we will adhere to that process and give all of these nominees an opportunity to make their case.”
Thune similarly told NBC’s Kristen Welker, “We’re going to do everything we can to ensure that [Trump] has the people he wants in place.” He added that his “hope and expectation” is that “the president will get the people that he wants in place to implement his agenda.”
Hegseth’s confirmation hearing is scheduled for January 14.
