GOP insiders view Trump’s nominee for intelligence director as far more vulnerable than his choice for Pentagon chief.

For over a month, even as Pete Hegseth has faced extensive scrutiny over his personal conduct and fitness to be Defense secretary, high-level Republicans have quietly considered former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to be President-elect Donald Trump’s most imperiled nominee.

Hegseth’s appearance Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee illustrates why Gabbard still may yet be confirmed to oversee the nation’s intelligence services.

The disproportionate attention to Hegseth’s appointment by the press and senators in both parties, as demonstrated in the hearing’s onslaught of pointed questions from Democrats and the robust Republican defense, has been a gift to Gabbard.