Hegseth will likely clarify his position on women in combat to be not lowering any standard for any job just to accommodate someone. Women make excellent pilots; however, not every woman can carry a 200lb load around the battlefield.

He can try. I don't think it will work. His past statements against women in combat roles have been categorical, and the military doesn't lower standards for jobs to accommodate women. If the job requires carrying a 200 lb load around the battlefield, then you have to be able to carry that load - man or woman. I think someone like Ernst will eat him alive if he tries to tell her otherwise.

They're already floating names to replace him - I've seen Ernst and Ron DeSantis mentioned. Ron would be a home run.

I'm not sure DeSantis would be a home run. He's got one of the same problems Hegseth has - a very thin resume on defense and national security issues. Like Hegseth, he's got some military experience serving as a member of the armed forces - but he has very little familiarity with the military as an institution and an organization. The GOP Senators who care about the military, and who care that the DoD is going to be well run, may be concerned about that. It's hard job to step into if you're a relative newbie about the armed services and all the myriad issues that it faces.

I think Ernst would be a better choice substantively (and for ease of confirmation), but she's got to be aware that being SecDef under Trump is a poisoned chalice not worth trading a safe Senate seat for.