Trump allies adopt new strategy for nominees: Make the doubters pay

Donald Trump's transition team entered a critical week of nomination meetings on Capitol Hill with a new head of steam, emboldened by a swarm of grassroots support and a pressure campaign that has revived Pete Hegseth's hopes for Defense secretary and given them confidence about other controversial nominees, too.

In recent days, allies of Trump adopted an approach that is not novel for the president-elect and his followers: Make life extremely uncomfortable for anyone who dares to oppose him. The swarm of MAGA attacks that Sen. Joni Ernst has experienced is a warning of what's in store for others who express skepticism of his personnel choices.

Days after signaling she continued to have serious concerns about confirming Hegseth, Ernst on Monday sounded a different note. She described their conversation Monday afternoon as “encouraging,” said she would “support” Hegseth through the process, touted some of the commitments he made to her about what he would do in the role, and suggested she would only take allegations against him seriously if they come from named accusers.

The change in tune followed an aggressive push for Hegseth by top Trump allies and supporters, as well as a defiant performance by the Defense secretary nominee that has Trump’s team bullish on him getting confirmed. But it’s not just Hegseth. Trump allies believe his choice to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, and his nominee for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, are in a stronger position as well.

Hegseth “became a cause,” said a Trump ally who was granted anonymity to speak freely. “Not even for the official Trump operation, but the movement who is going apeshit for him.”

The fortunes of Hegseth and his fellow nominees could always change, people close to the president-elect caution, and Trump’s team is carefully tracking support on Capitol Hill. With a narrow Senate Republican majority, 53-47, Trump can only afford to lose three GOP votes. But the palpable shift demonstrated how grassroots pressure, combined with the influence of Vice President-elect JD Vance, helped bolster Hegseth only days after Trump was drawing up contingency plans to tap Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis instead.

People in Trump’s orbit believed that if Hegseth’s nomination was “sacrificed” to Ernst, it would become a “feeding frenzy” with the president-elect’s other controversial picks, like Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Patel.

And Vance over the last week was “super instrumental” in consolidating support among his Republican Senate colleagues behind Hegseth and getting Trump’s team to stay in the fight, said a person with knowledge of the transition process.

“(Vance) saw the game that was being played where these senators believed themselves to be more powerful than they are,” the person said. “There’s a widely understood belief that [Matt] Gaetz dropped out on his own — he knew there were going to be certain senators that were just not going to budge on him.”

With Hegseth, the person continued, Trump allies knew they had to “draw a red line here” to send a message to senators.

Just last week, Ernst and Sen. Lindsey Graham were openly questioning Hegseth’s nomination. It appeared he was about to follow in former Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz’s footsteps.

But after a frenzy of criticism from MAGA activists late last week and over the weekend, Ernst on Monday expressed optimism about Hegseth, while signaling willingness to confirm other Trump nominees also seen as potentially problematic, posting her support for Patel and another photo of her smiling with Gabbard.

“I appreciate Pete Hegseth’s responsiveness and respect for the process,” Ernst said in a statement released by her office after her “encouraging” meeting with Hegseth on Monday. She said he “committed to completing a full audit of the Pentagon and selecting a senior official who will uphold the roles and value of our servicemen and women — based on quality and standards, not quotas — and who will prioritize and strengthen my work to prevent sexual assault within the ranks.”

“As I support Pete through this process,” Ernst added, “I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources.”

For his part, Hegseth described the meeting with Ernst to reporters as “very good.”

“The more we talk, the more we’re reminded, as combat veterans, how dedicated we are to defense,” Hegseth said. “I just appreciate her commitment to the process, and I look forward to working together.”

Graham said he had “a very positive, thorough and candid meeting” with Hegseth and like Ernst, said accusations should be “supported by testimony before Congress — not anonymous sources.”

Even before her meeting with Hegseth, Trump insiders on Monday believed Ernst was viewing the situation much differently from the week before.

“Joni, I’m told,” said a Trump ally with insider knowledge of the transition process, “got the message loud and clear.”

The person said Ernst was “looking for an off ramp” from her public skepticism of Hegseth after receiving an onslaught of criticism from MAGA activists. That campaign took off last week after prominent Trump allies, including his son Donald Trump Jr. and Charlie Kirk, made social media posts critical of Ernst.

“Fix bayonets — that’s what we’re doing here to make sure that we have the back of President Trump and his nominees,” Steve Bannon said Friday on his “War Room” show.

Hegseth saved himself with Trump, according to multiple people familiar with the matter, who said the president-elect was pleased with the defiance he showed last week in interviews and in meetings on Capitol Hill. He is expected to do an interview with Trump’s friend and Fox News anchor Sean Hannity Monday night.

“He stood strong and showed up to the Hill every day and had thoughtful conversations and meetings, and I think his media blitz was highly effective in proving he's not going to back down,” said a Trump transition official.

People in Trump’s orbit emphasized that Hegseth’s fortunes are different than Gaetz’s, as there are no senators who have said they won’t support his nomination.

Allies of Trump, including Kirk, are already vowing to mount primary challenges against red-state Republican senators who don’t support his nominees — a plan that Trump’s team is hinting support for.

An op-ed written by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird calling for senators to support Trump’s nominees was blasted out by the Republican National Committee press team. It was seen by some Republicans as a veiled primary threat against Ernst from a top Trump ally in Iowa.

“They have a window of opportunity right now to show to the base that they’re willing to play ball,” said Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Kirk. “We’re going to see where they stand.”

The bullishness spread to some of Trump’s most loyal backers in the Senate. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who was considered for Defense secretary himself, declared on X: “I expect our Republican Senate is going to confirm all of President Trump's nominees.

“Of the 72 cabinet secretary nominees since the Clinton transition,” he added, “only 2 nominees have ever received NO votes from the president-elect's party. No one should be surprised that the Republican Senate will confirm President Trump’s nominees.”