MSNBC's Jen Psaki predicts when Pete Hegseth nomination will be 'killed'

MSNBC host Jen Psaki made an appearance on "Morning Joe" on Friday and weighed in on whether Pete Hegseth will make it to his Senate confirmation hearing as the embattled ex-Fox News host is buffeted by reports alleging drinking problems and accusations of sexual assault.

Speaking with "Morning Joe" co-hosts Willie Geist and Jonathan Lemire, Psaki, a former President Joe Biden press secretary, suggested there is a big difference between what is being said in public and what is said behind the scenes.

"I think there's what's happening publicly and then there's what's happening privately and what's happening privately really tells you the whole story with nominations," she explained before recalling, "This didn't always used to be the case; it used to be many years ago that senators would come out and say 'I'm going to vote for this person' or 'I'm not going to vote for this person,' but now because so many Republican senators especially are concerned about being a target of Trump, all of this is basically quiet defiance."

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"That's what you saw with [failed attorney general nominee] Matt Gaetz and I think that's what you're seeing right now with Pete Hegseth," she elaborated. "What was interesting, I don't know if you all saw [Democratic Senator Richard] Blumenthal, comments yesterday with the senator from Connecticut, a Democrat, who said there are eight to ten Republicans or five to ten maybe he said –– which is quite a range –– who he thinks would oppose Hegseth."

"What I expect is going to happen is this is going to be quietly a nomination that is killed over the next couple of days," she predicted. "Meaning people on the Hill, senators, whether it's [Senate Minority Leader Mitch] McConnell or others will convey to the Trump team that he simply does not have the votes."

"Then Trump has to decide what he wants to do from there," she continued. "Does he pick another nomination? We're already seeing names floating out there, which is coming from somewhere in the Trump orbit, so that tells you a lot."

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