American voters largely disagree with President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Pentagon, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth.
The controversial candidate for defense secretary has been meeting with senators all week to convince them he is the right choice.
Hegseth’s chances of being confirmed are already on thin ice following allegations of binge drinking and misconduct in interactions with women.
Of the 53 Republican senators who will oversee his possible confirmation early next year, Hegseth could lose just three Republican votes and still pull through.
Several female GOP senators have expressed interest in speaking personally with Hegseth to discuss the claims.
However, many Republicans appear to support Trump’s choices.
But according to the latest DailyMail.com/JL Partners poll, voters are not confident Hegseth is the man for the job.
The 1,000 registered voters who responded to the survey generally rated him unfavorably.
A majority of the more than 1,000 registered voters who responded to the latest DailyMail.com/JL Partner poll had an overall negative view of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, walks with his wife Jennifer Rauchet to his meeting with Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., Thursday, December 5, 2024
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The survey found that only a majority of respondents rated Hegseth very or somewhat unfavorably, although the poor rating was associated with a narrow margin of one point.
Furthermore, a majority of voters responded that Hegseth is an inappropriate selection for the job.
Only 28 percent of respondents said his appointment was appropriate, while 29 percent said it was inappropriate, the poll found.
The remaining respondents had no opinion (27 percent) or had never heard of him (16 percent).
Of the many nominations Trump has made for his Cabinet and other high-level positions, only the nomination of Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security and the nomination of Hegseth as secretary of Defense were deemed inappropriate.
Despite this, the poll found that voters also believe the former TV host should be confirmed to the post by a three-point margin.
Voters in particular responded, saying all of Trump’s selections should be confirmed.
Still, among Republican voters who responded to the poll, Hegseth was among the most unpopular nominations.
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Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, meets with Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D.
Despite his low rating, a majority of respondents thought Hegseth still deserves confirmation
Only 57 percent of Republican voters responded that they want him confirmed.
The only other Cabinet pick to receive lower approval among Republicans was the nomination for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, at 54 percent.
Hegseth’s popularity among Republicans in the Senate is also under discussion.
On Thursday morning, Hegseth was spotted again at a Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers to shore up support.
“I spoke to Trump this morning, just a few minutes ago. He fully supports us,” Hegseth said as he walked to a meeting with South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds.
When asked if he would meet Trump at Mar-a-Lago, he acknowledged that it was the president-elect who was taking the lead. “If he wants a meeting, we will have a meeting,” he said
Earlier in the morning, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee — the panel charged with overseeing Hegseth’s confirmation — said she did not necessarily agree with TV’s nomination -presenter.
During a Fox News interview, host Bill Hemmer pressed Ernst about her recent meeting with Hegseth, saying that it “doesn’t sound in your answer like you’ve reached a yes.”
“I think you’re right,” she replied.
“I think some of our senators want to make sure that all allegations have been addressed and so we need to go through a very thorough screening,” she said.
Hegseth has met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill for three consecutive days about his vision for leading the Pentagon
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Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa has also been reported as a possible nominee for Secretary of Defense if Hegseth fails to gather enough support
Joni Ernst served in the military before becoming an Iowa senator
“(We) have talked about some of these issues and we will continue the vetting process.”
Ernst, who served in the Iowa Army National Guard for 23 years, is said to be interested in the Pentagon job himself and could be used as a backup candidate if Hegseth were to fall.
Fellow Republican female Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming also said they plan to meet with Hegseth.
Both said they are interested in hearing more from him about the various allegations.
These meetings are expected to take place next week.