The intrigue is interesting, but it is based on a handful of what-ifs.
But the scenario has enough credibility that the normally close-to-the-vest U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Ooltewah, mentioned it to a Tennessee Lookout reporter — that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is a possibility for an appointment to the U.S. Senate should U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn win the governor’s office in Tuesday’s election.
Of course, this is the same Fleischmann who also wants the job and told the reporter he’d “be honored to have (it because he believes he brings) “a unique skill set to the job.”
The scenario is predicated, of course, on Tuesday’s results electing Blackburn governor, Fleischmann to a ninth term in the House and the pressure growing so heavy on Hegseth about his handling of the military job that he resigns.
There also was a Spry Strategies survey in September that said, given a choice, respondents would prefer U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville. That survey also revealed that nearly a majority of respondents (47%) were unsure who should be appointed or didn’t want to say.