'Is he really alive?': Ex-GOP insider blasts Trump pick Pete Hegseth as a 'zombie' nominee

According to former Republican speechwriter Elise Jordan, she doesn't see a pathway for embattled Pete Hegseth to win over enough senators to become Donald Trump's secretary of defense.

During an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Jordan slyly suggested that Hegseth –– whose future is under a cloud over allegations of public drunkenness and accusations of sexual assault –– could be wasting his time walking the hall of Congress with his wife trying to round up support.

In that vein, she suggested that the former Fox News personality is a "zombie" nominee unwilling to admit that his nomination is dead.

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Senate Dems consider whether Biden should ‘clear the slate’ and pardon Trump

Asked if Trump is letting his top Pentagon pick dangle, she told hosts Willie Geist and Jonathan Lemire, "I think he will let him hang on."

"Pete Hegseth is like a zombie nominee; he is wandering around. He is in the game, but is he really alive? No one is quite sure," she explained. "It is very hard to imagine [Senators] Tammy Duckworth and Joni Ernst signing off on someone who has said the things about women in combat that Pete Hegseth said."

"The sexual assault allegations aside, the fact that Pete Hegseth said he will quit drinking when he becomes a D.o.D. secretary? That's outrageous," she exclaimed. "That's what background checks screen for; people who do not have substance abuse problems because they can be easily blackmailed."

Watch below or at the link.

- YouTube youtu.be