Analysis: Trump's defense secretary pick faces an "absolutely critical" day as Pentagon hopes hang by a thread

Donald Trump is in danger of losing another one of his provocative Cabinet picks in a further blow to his bid to shake up Washington in his second term.

The president-elect is facing a decision about how much his heart is set on former Fox News anchor and veteran Pete Hegseth to run the Pentagon.

Hegseth’s candidacy ran into stiff headwinds on Tuesday, amid increasing disquiet among some GOP senators about allegations concerning his treatment of women, drinking and capacity to run the US military behemoth.

A handful of Republican senators publicly said that Hegseth needed to answer questions about his alleged conduct — and possible alternatives for secretary of defense were being floated by sources close to Trump.

Hegseth’s hopes appear to be ebbing ahead of a Fox News interview scheduled for Wednesday. A senior Trump administration source told CNN’s Jake Tapper late Tuesday night that “tomorrow is going to be absolutely critical.” The source suggested that Hegseth hadn’t been forthcoming with the Trump team about his past behavior involving women and alcohol.

Trump’s criteria for picking Cabinet secretaries seems to depend on how willing they’ll be to do exactly what he wants — in this case, to root out what he regards as “woke” generals — and how good they look on TV. But Trump’s subordinates enter a danger zone when they begin to come across as beleaguered and besieged and reflect poorly on him. That’s what happened to short-lived attorney general pick Matt Gaetz last month, and Hegseth risks entering similar territory.