Pete Hegseth was asked by a reporter this morning if he had spoken to President-elect Trump about the reporting that he’s considering Governor Ron DeSantis to replace him for the position of Secretary of Defense.

Hegseth responded that he spoke to President-elect Trump this morning, who told him to “keep going, keep fighting, I’m behind you all the way.”

Here’s the video:

At this point I believe that Trump considering Governor DeSantis, assuming he’s interested, is just a contingency plan for when and if Hegseth’s nomination fails. I don’t think Trump has any plans to ask Hegseth to withdraw his name from consideration. If the reporting is accurate, it just demonstrates that Trump is being thorough.

The problem is that with this leak, it could cause some waivering senators who may want the governor of Florida instead to choose not to support Hegseth. In other words, it can poison Hegseth’s nomination and that’s really just not fair for him. He should be considered solely based on his experience and shouldn’t be declined simply because someone else is said to be waiting in the wings.