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Pete Hegseth Was Toast. The MAGA Swarm Came to His Rescue.

Warning: this episode contains strong language. Over the past few weeks, the resistance of a single Republican senator, Joni Ernst of Iowa, had threatened to derail Donald J. Trump’s choice of Pete Hegseth to run the Department of Defense. Karoun Demirjian, who covers Congress for The Times, and Jonathan Swan, who covers politics, discuss how Mr. Trump and his allies ensured that Ms. Ernst’s resistance went away. Guest: Karoun Demirjian, who covers Congress for The New York Times, with a focus on national security. Jonathan Swan, a Times reporter covering politics and Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign.
Duration
29m
Broadcast on
16 Dec 2024
Audio Format
other

Warning: this episode contains strong language.

Over the past few weeks, the resistance of a single Republican senator, Joni Ernst of Iowa, had threatened to derail Donald J. Trump’s choice of Pete Hegseth to run the Department of Defense.

Karoun Demirjian, who covers Congress for The Times, and Jonathan Swan, who covers politics, discuss how Mr. Trump and his allies ensured that Ms. Ernst’s resistance went away.

Guest: 

  • Karoun Demirjian, who covers Congress for The New York Times, with a focus on national security.
  • Jonathan Swan, a Times reporter covering politics and Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign.

Background reading: 

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

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This podcast is supported by TikTok. Sometimes the most interesting discoveries are the ones you weren't looking for. That happens every day on TikTok. A science experiment can spark a whole new interest. A recipe you stumble upon can become a meal you make for the people you love. And a restaurant you've never heard of might become your new favorite spot. That's the thing about TikTok. Follow your curiosity and see where it leads. Your next discovery is waiting on TikTok. From New York Times, I'm Michael Bovarro. This is The Daily. Over the past few weeks, the resistance of a single Republican senator has threatened to derail Donald Trump's controversial choice of Pete Haggseth to run the Department of Defense. Today, Karen Demersion and Jonathan Swan, with the story of how Trump and his allies ensured that that senator's resistance quickly went away. It's Monday, December 16th. Karen, in your role as a congressional reporter, you have been closely tracking the fate of Trump's pick to run the US military. Pete Haggseth, a pick that was controversial from the start but has become only more controversial over the past couple of weeks. - Right, I think everyone was pretty surprised when President-elect Trump picked a Fox News host to be his next Secretary of Defense. And the surprise turned into discomfort for a lot of people in shock as allegations started coming out about these fairly sordid details from his past. First, it was an accusation that he had committed sexual assault. And then after that, it became this article for The New Yorker, which alleged that he was drinking on the job and harassing female employees and was mismanaging the veteran's nonprofits that he was running. In the middle of all that, there was this email that crapped up that his mother had written him in 2018 calling him an abuser of women and telling him what a reprehensible person he was. And so as that mountain of allegations grew, there started to be more senators, including some of Trump's allies who started to express real discomfort with having to back this guy

Transcription truncated.

Warning: this episode contains strong language. Over the past few weeks, the resistance of a single Republican senator, Joni Ernst of Iowa, had threatened to derail Donald J. Trump’s choice of Pete Hegseth to run the Department of Defense. Karoun Demirjian, who covers Congress for The Times, and Jonathan Swan, who covers politics, discuss how Mr. Trump and his allies ensured that Ms. Ernst’s resistance went away. Guest: Karoun Demirjian, who covers Congress for The New York Times, with a focus on national security. Jonathan Swan, a Times reporter covering politics and Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign.