Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman (D) cracked some jokes online on Wednesday after reports came out that President-elect Trump might replace his defense secretary pick with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).
“I’ll consider a YES on him if he finally admits to his boots with 4” lifts,” Fetterman said in a post on X.
The post also included a screenshot of a report about President-elect Trump mulling over replacing Pete Hegseth with DeSantis. That report first came from the Wall Street Journal and cited sources familiar with the matter.
As for Feterman’s joke, DeSantis has been rumored to wear lifts in his boots for some time. The rumor grew even more so during his campaign for the Republican presidential nominee.
Hegseth has been under the spotlight following several negative reports about allegations of sexual misconduct, financial mismanagement at veteran’s charities, abuse of alcohol, and infidelity.
Hegseth has denied the allegations against him, but like former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), he may struggle to be confirmed in his role. Gaetz was Trump’s pick for attorney general, but he pulled his name from consideration last month after finding a difficult path forward.
Still, Hegseth said on Wednesday in a post to social media that he wouldn’t back down in the face of what he called a smear campaign by Democrats.
“I’m doing this for the warfighters, not the warmongers. The Left is afraid of disrupters and change agents. They are afraid of @realDonaldTrump—and me,” he wrote.
“So they smear w/ fake, anonymous sources & BS stories. They don’t want truth,” Hegseth went on to say. “Our warriors never back down, & neither will I.”