The public uproar following the announcement of the appointment created even a fear that the president-elect would not be able to pass the appointment in the Senate. Several Republican senators said they were unsure they would support it. Trump’s team decided because of this, according to the report, to examine the replacement of Geseth with Governor DeSantis.
According to the Wall Street Journal, discussions of DeSantis’ candidacy came up during informal talks at Mar-el-Lago and are still in the early stages. The Trump team will wait to examine the public reaction to Geseth in the next two days, and in the meantime renew the discussions around the original list of candidates.
The choice of DeSantis is also surprising, as he ran against Trump in the Republican primaries in a move that created a bitter rivalry between them. On Tuesday, the two attended a memorial service in Florida, and in recent days the idea was presented to DeSantis, but as of now no official response has been given on his behalf.
The 44-year-old Hagseth served in Iraq, Cuba and Afghanistan as part of his service in the US National Guard. In recent years, he presented and commented on the Fox network, and he advised Trump during his first term. The Associated Press reported that US Army officers were very surprised by the choice.