With Gaetz dropping out, do Hegseth, RFK Jr. and Gabbard now have bigger targets on their backs?

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s withdrawal as President-elect Trump’s nominee for attorney general amid growing fallout over sex trafficking allegations may prove problematic for Trump’s other controversial picks for top administration positions.

Gaetz took his name out of consideration Thursday as Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice to serve as defense secretary, was wrapping up meetings on Capitol Hill with senators. 

Hegseth, who was joined by Vice President-elect JD Vance, is also facing sexual misconduct allegations from a 2017 encounter. Scrutiny increased late Wednesday night after police in Monterey, California, released a report about the allegations.

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President-elect Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., right, and Vice President-elect JD Vance, left, walk out of a meeting with Republican Senate Judiciary Committee members at the Capitol in Washington Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

“The matter was fully investigated, and I was completely cleared,” Hegseth told reporters on Capitol Hill Thursday. Through his attorney, he has also acknowledged the sexual encounter but has said it was consensual.

Trump’s transition team spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt called Hegseth “a highly-respected combat veteran who will honorably serve our country when he is confirmed as the next secretary of defense.” 

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But with Gaetz now out of the firing line, Hegseth, an Army National Guard officer who deployed to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and who, until earlier this month, was a high-profile Fox News host, is likely to face more attention from the media and from senators.

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, speaks with reporters after a meeting with senators on Capitol Hill Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, taking questions from reporters after Gaetz announced he was dropping out of consideration, was asked about the allegations against Hegseth.

“It’s a pretty big problem given that we have … a sexual assault problem in our military,” Cramer said.

The senator added he’s “not going to prejudge,” but that “it’s a pretty concerning accusation.”

Trump’s transition team on Thursday afternoon blasted out an email titled, “Pete Hegseth Earns Strong Support On Capitol Hill,” which spotlighted positive quotes from 11 GOP senators, including a snippet from Cramer.

And a source close to Trump’s transition team told Fox News “the transition team doesn’t think the issues Gaetz faced are a wider problem.”

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. arrives before President-elect Trump speaks during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate Nov. 14, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

But scrutiny will likely also increase for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, Trump’s picks for Health and Human Services secretary and director of national intelligence, as they both face potential blowback for past controversial comments.

“I would be more worried if I was them,” a different source in Trump’s political orbit told Fox News when asked about Hegseth, Kennedy and Gabbard.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said there are “some things” Kennedy should “get ahead of” before courting senators on Capitol Hill.

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But a Republican strategist who has advised Republican senators pointed to Gaetz as a sacrificial lamb.

“There’s always one” that goes down who “gives cover to the others,” the source, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, said.

The strategist said Hegseth, Gabbard and Kennedy “all have their work cut out for them,” but that “the [GOP] conference is going to be much happier now going forward. … Gaetz was the only one that was a non-starter.”

Fox News Kelly Phares and Meghan Tome contributed to this report