Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been floated as a candidate to head the Department of Defense if the current nomination falls through, and Orange County leaders continue to push for more information about expenditures by the Supervisor of Elections office.
Trump considers DeSantis to lead the Pentagon as Hegseth faces scrutiny over a series of allegations
The nomination of Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Pentagon, is under pressure as senators who would need to confirm him weigh a series of allegations that have surfaced against him.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who competed against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, is being discussed as a possible replacement if Hegseth’s nomination does not move forward, according to three other people familiar with the matter.
They were not authorized to publicly discuss internal deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Hegseth’s mother appeared on Fox News on Wednesday to defend her son, who faces multiple allegations that have emerged in the media about alcohol intoxication at work events, sexual misconduct and potential financial mismanagement.
The Trump transition team was growing concerned about Hegseth’s path to confirmation and was actively looking at potential replacements, a person familiar with the matter said.
Trump and DeSantis appeared together on Tuesday at a ceremony in West Palm Beach to honor three fallen sheriff’s deputies.
The Trump transition team didn’t immediately comment.
However, according to CNN, DeSantis is interested in serving in Trump’s administration as defense secretary if formally offered the job, sources reported.
DeSantis served in the Navy as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer, and leaned into his military experience while running for president.
Hegseth’s mother, Penelope Hegseth joined the “Fox & Friends” to discuss her son and a 2018 email she wrote him that was obtained by The New York Times, in which she confronted him about mistreating women after he impregnated his current wife while he was married to his second wife.
That letter followed multiple allegations, reported by the New Yorker this week, of questionable conduct around female staffers. Hegseth also was accused of sexual assault in 2017, which Hegseth told California police at the time was consensual encounter and has denied any wrongdoing.
Hegseth is a former Fox News host and a former Army National Guard major and combat veteran who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. If confirmed by the Senate, he would lead a 2 million member strong military — more than 17% of whom are female. The revelations have concerned some members of Congress.
“I would do anything for my son,” Penelope Hegseth said in the TV interview.
She spoke directly to Trump in the segment, saying her son “is not that man he was seven years ago.” She said she wrote the email because Hegseth and his then-wife were going through a very difficult divorce and “it was a very emotional time.”
She said she retracted the email and apologized to her son about two hours after sending it.
Orange County commissioners vote to withhold funds from supervisor of elections
Orange County commissioners unanimously voted Tuesday to withhold funding from Supervisor of Elections Glen Gilzean because of alleged misuse of funds.
It is the latest in an ongoing tug-of-war between the county and the Supervisor of Elections office surrounding a surplus of funds.
Of the $4 million surplus the elections’ office received after the election, Gilzean used $2.1 million to fund debt-free scholarships to Valencia College students.
While Gilzean said his office returned more than $700,000 in unused funding to the county, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings considered legal action against Gilzean, saying he should have returned all the leftover money to the county.
“Our office acted well within the law to establish these scholarships and will vigorously defend our mission to expand voter participation and improve the lives of Orange County citizens,” said Gilzean.
CareerSource also received $1.9 million in additional funding, but has since refunded the money back to the Supervisor of Elections office.
The county is now questioning Gilzean’s spending record on non-budgetary expenses dating back to Oct. 2, after a “confidential informant” told commissioners that the elections office wired more than $1.1 million to a Central Florida nonprofit on that date.
Given Demings background in law enforcement, he said he’s extra weary of politicians who faced investigations for misuse of funds.
“I’m not necessarily saying that in this instance, but the alarms are there, is what I’m saying to the public,” Demings said.
Gilzean, however, said he has nothing to hide.
“Florida statutes 129.201 clearly states that I have the authority to utilize these resources in the best interest of the office,” Gilzean said in an interview with Ybeth Bruzual on Spectrum News’ Political Connections.
With Orange County being the fourth largest county in the state, Gilzean said his goal for this past election season was to use extra funds to invest back into the people of Orange County and increase voter participation among the younger generation.