Tennessee Governor-Elect Marsha Blackburn will get to appoint the person to fill her Senate seat when she assumes office.
Sec. of Defense Pete Hegseth has been lobbying Blackburn for the seat, even though he is not a Tennessee native and only lived in Tennessee for a few years. Hegseth needs the Senate seat because he is on the brink of either being impeached by the US House of Representatives next week or fired by President Donald Trump.
Hegseth has been looking for an exit that hopefully would also provide him with some immunity and shield him from congressional investigation.
PoliticusUSA can provide free posts like this because of the support of readers like you. Support us by becoming a subscriber.
That exit plan will not involve getting appointed to the US Senate seat in Tennessee.
Jake Sherman of Punchbowl News posted on X:
From a source close to incoming Tennessee Gov. Marsha Blackburn: “[Pete Hegseth] is not being considered [for Senate]. This is nothing more than Washington, D.C., spin from a bunch of consultants with nothing better to do. The Blackburn team is focused on the transition, not entertaining baseless speculation. Dc won’t pick the next senator.”
It is a pretty solid guess that when the Blackburn team talks about DC not picking the next Senator from Tennessee, they are talking about Pete Hegseth. Trump has not gotten behind Hegseth as the next Senator.
The conversation about Pete Hegseth getting the job all seems to be coming from Pete Hegseth.
Either the House impeaches Hegseth, and Trump forces him to resign. The other possibility is that Trump blames Hegseth for the midterm massacre and kicks Hegseth to the curb.
Neither option involves Pete Hegseth being around for much longer running the Pentagon.
Marsha Blackburn obviously had no interest in making Pete Hegseth her problem.
It looks like Hegseth will soon get his old job back on the couch at Fox and Friends weekend, because his time as Secretary of Defense seems to be ending fast.
What do you think about Blackburn saying no to Hegseth for the Senate seat? Talk about it in the comments below.
