Hegseth has struggled to garner overwhelming support among Republican senators for his nomination amid reports of alleged excessive drinking and sexual misconduct, prompting Trump and others in his orbit to explore alternative options. One such name was DeSantis, Trump’s former primary challenger and prominent conservative figure. 

However, that never culminated into a real nomination, likely because the president-elect “could not find a single person in his orbit, or even really outside of it, who liked this idea,” Haberman said in an interview on CNN.

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Instead, Trump let Hegseth take things into his own hands to secure support, allowing him to go out and “fight his way past some of these stories.”

Trump also reiterated his support for Hegseth publicly while other members in his orbit, such as Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, made the push for him behind the scenes. 

Those efforts especially targeted Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), who has been criticized by some conservatives for not being immediately supportive of his bid. 

“And you saw this movement most significantly … [when the] MAGA movement really, really activated online, on digital ads, making a target specifically of Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa to try to get her to a yes,” Haberman said. 

Although Trump’s team may not be ready to celebrate a win just yet, Haberman said she believes the president-elect and his allies are “feeling vastly better about it today than they did a week ago.”

“There remains, you know, a lingering awareness that something could come up. There could be more,” Haberman said. “Hegseth himself is said to be aware that, you know, there are potentially going to be other stories.”