Listen and follow ‘The Daily’
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube | iHeartRadio
Warning: this episode contains strong language.
Over the past few weeks, the resistance of a single Republican senator, Joni Ernst of Iowa, had threatened to derail Donald J. Trump’s choice of Pete Hegseth to run the Department of Defense.
Karoun Demirjian, who covers Congress for The Times, and Jonathan Swan, who covers politics, discuss how Mr. Trump and his allies ensured that Ms. Ernst’s resistance went away.
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
On today’s episode
Karoun Demirjian, who covers Congress for The New York Times, with a focus on national security.
Jonathan Swan, a Times reporter covering politics and Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign.
Background reading
Mr. Trump became convinced that letting Mr. Hegseth fail would set off a feeding frenzy among senators.
Ms. Ernst, who is facing re-election in 2026, appeared less skeptical about the pick after MAGA supporters threatened her with political retribution.
There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.
We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.
The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Michael Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg, and Chris Haxel.
Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson, Nina Lassam and Nick Pitman.