NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Governor-elect Marsha Blackburn is not weighing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to fill the U.S. Senate seat she will vacate after she is sworn in as governor in January, according to a person familiar with private transition talks.
Blackburn won the Nov. 3 governor race over Democrat Jerri Green by a narrow margin in nearly complete returns, with an independent also on the ballot. She has said she will stay in the Senate until the January inauguration, which under state law would let her appoint a successor to serve until the November 2028 election.
Hegseth, who keeps a home outside Nashville, had drawn speculation for the appointment after the midterms. The source close to Blackburn dismissed the Hegseth talk as empty speculation and said she has not discussed picking the Pentagon chief with President Donald Trump. Several Tennessee Republicans are already being mentioned for the opening, including U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs and Damon Hininger, formerly of CoreCivic.
Hegseth remains under separate political pressure in Washington. Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie has said he will file impeachment articles in the lame-duck window, and a senior Pentagon official has warned that swapping him out before Democrats take the Senate would face steep confirmation odds. Trump has kept defending Hegseth in public even as he acknowledges getting critical calls about the Pentagon chief.
Blackburn victory margin was tighter than many expected in a state that usually delivers large Republican wins, finishing near 45.5 percent to Green 43 percent with independent David Hatley near 9 percent. She would become Tennessee first woman governor when she takes the oath in January, and the Senate appointment is one of the earliest decisions of her transition.
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