Hegseth not in consideration for Tennessee Senate: Report

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is reportedly not in consideration to replace Tennessee Gov.-elect Marsha Blackburn’s (R) open Senate seat.

An Associated Press report , citing a person familiar with the matter who discussed the private conversations on condition of anonymity, stated that Hegseth is not being considered for the seat. Instead, Blackburn was focused on her transition to the governor’s mansion.

The person dismissed speculation about Hegseth taking Blackburn’s Senate seat as “baseless chatter.”

This comes after two sources told The Hill on Thursday that President Trump has been asking advisers and allies whether Hegseth’s standing following the midterms.

One of those sources said Hegseth is in “a lot of trouble,” while the other said it wasn’t clear how much his position was in jeopardy. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Though in public, Trump defended Hegseth , telling reporters on Wednesday he was not considering replacing the defense secretary, saying he was “doing a very good job,” but would be “very popular” if he filled Blackburn’s seat.

Hegseth, a former Army National Guard major, is interested in the open Tennessee Senate seat and has been campaigning behind the scenes for the post, The Hill previously reported.

A senior Pentagon official also stated that if Hegseth left his posting at the Pentagon, the process of replacing him would not be “practical,” pointing to the potential difficulty of finding a replacement who could be confirmed by the Senate during the lame-duck — and before Democrats take control of the upper chamber.

Outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) announced he would be introducing the eight articles of impeachment for Hegseth before the Kentucky senator left office.

The lawmaker has expressed that the only thing Hegseth could do to stop the effort would be to resign on his own accord .

Multiple other Tennessee politicians are interested in the seat including Reps. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) and Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), former Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs and former CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger.

Burchett, particularly, has campaigned for Blackburn this election cycle.