Ex-White House official points to Trump's under-the-radar 'veiled threat' to GOP rivals

During an appearance on MSNBC's "The Weekend," Julián Castro, who served in President Barack Obama's administration, claimed the press missed the one of the reasons Donald Trump's camp floated Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) as a possible replacement for embattled secretary of defense nominee Pete Hegseth.

At his lowest point, the ex-Fox News personality Pete Hegseth appeared to be hours away from being dumped over allegations of sexual assault and public drunkeness, which led to the Florida lawmaker's name being leaked as a replacement to save Trump embarrassment.

According to Castro, he thinks there is more to it than was reported.

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As he explained to the MSNBC hosts, "One last thing that's not as talked about, it was really fascinating when Trump felt that Hegseth's nomination might fail," Castro recalled. "He suggested Ron DeSantis as an alternate."

"I read that also as a veiled threat to the ambitious senators out there who are thinking themselves that, as soon as the 2026 midterms are done, they're going to be running for president," he continued. "And they don't want the elevation of a potential rival like DeSantis. So there are a lot of bits and pieces to this that I think are unfolding, some of them with a lot of attention and spotlight, and others without it."

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