'It will be a feeding frenzy': Fears raised by Trump camp of potential GOP revolt

In an interview with Washington Post, a close ally of Donald Trump expressed worries that having to pull the nomination of Fox News personality Pete Hegseth to be the next secretary of defense would have a ripple effect that could impact some of his other controversial nominees.

The Post is reporting that the Hegseth nomination, which has a cloud over it due to allegations of public drunkenness and accusations of sexual assault, is on thin ice and that has some in Trump's inner circle fretting it could lead to some GOP lawmakers feeling they have a stronger hand when it comes to approving key members of the president-elect's administration.

According to the report from the Post's Isaac Arnsdorf, Ashley Parker, Marianne LeVine and Liz Goodwin, Trump is for the most part maintaining a hands-off approach to lobbying, with the report stating, " Trump has held back on pushing hard himself, according to advisers who, like many of the more than a dozen figures interviewed for this story, spoke on the condition of anonymity to relate private conversations"

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The president-elect did post about the embattled Hegseth on Friday with a subdued, for him, post on Truth Social which was followed by his asserting support for the nominee in a clip from a "Meet the Press" interview to be aired in entirety on Sunday.

However, there are still worries in the Trump camp that it may not be enough with several GOP senators stating they are still unsure and want to hear more about Hegseth's views and history.

In an interview with the Post, a Trump ally warned, "If Hegseth gets pulled, it will weaken Trump’s standing with Senate Republicans and only embolden anti-Trump Republican senators to try to tank his other nominees that they don’t like,” before predicting, "It will be a feeding frenzy.”

Another Trump aide admitted what they are doing may not be enough.

"It’s smashmouth football at this point,” they stated. “We’re doing everything we can do to defend Pete. We’re doing everything we can do to let everyone know he has an exceptional background and the experience to do this job. We’re doing everything we can to make sure we’re fighting tooth and nail to push back on all the stories and all the negativity.”

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