As Fox personality Pete Hegseth continues to roam the halls of Congress attempting to sell Republican party lawmakers on his nomination to be Donald Trump's secretary of defense, MSNBC's Jonathan Lemire claimed there is still a contingent of GOP lawmakers who are balking.
On Wednesday morning, the "Morning Joe" co-host stated that what he is hearing from Capitol Hill is the numbers have not changed for the embattled Hegseth, due to allegations of sexual assault and reported drinking problems, and that there are enough Republicans who will vote no which would kill his nomination.
Noting the pressure being put on GOP lawmakers by Trump allies, Lemire claimed it has not been wholly successful.
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With co-host Joe Scarborough stating everyone needs to step back and let the "process" play out, Lemire interjected, "The word from Palm Beach is that he has momentum, they feel more confident about him right now, but he still not there yet."
"[Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa] Murkowski, yesterday, very careful wording, 'Trust the process'," he added, "We expect that he will get a fair hearing. It's this thing that we heard from yesterday, yes, they are not outright saying no, but they are also not saying yes –– they are not there yet, see whatever revelations may come up, there certainly has been no shortage of them at this point."
"Also, the people that I talked to in the last 24 hours say that numbers are about the same, still about six Republicans who aren't there yet to vote yes," he reported. "Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) doing a public service. Seemingly, this is the third or fourth time where he has gone before cameras and said, 'No, I have been talking to republican colleagues, he doesn't have the votes just yet.' So far the Trump team thinks they will keep him."
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