As Republicans blame their midterm trouncing on the war in Iran, the political future of the man who is the face of the conflict now hangs in the balance.
asserted
who → blame → balance
And, according to high-level sources, there is certainly no chance that Pete Hegseth, perhaps the most polarizing defense secretary in modern US history, falls on his sword and resigns.
uncertain
Hegseth → accord → sword
'That would be deeply out of character,' said a top Pentagon insider.
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insider → say → character
'He thinks it's God's mission that he run this department.
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he → think → department
No way he'll step down unless he's forced out, pushed.
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he → step → ?
That is not to say, however, that Hegseth looks likely to continue running the Defense Department - despite President Trump having supported him so far, at least in public.
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Trump → say → public
After all, Hegseth faces the threat of impeachment by a Democratic-run Congress in 2027, or even sooner during this lame-duck session as fellow Republicans turn against him for driving an unpopular war that has jacked up US energy prices.
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that → face → prices
After GOP congressman Thomas Massie announced plans on Monday to force an impeach vote in the House this week, Hegseth told reporters that he is not afraid.
'If you want to litigate our success, I'm happy to do it all day long,' he said.
asserted
he → announce → it
Nonetheless, Hegseth could, as reported by some news outlets, be offered a parachute to avoid impeachment with an appointment to the US Senate seat that Republican Marsha Blackburn is leaving to become Tennessee's governor.
uncertain
Blackburn → report → that
Or he could yet still be fired should the notoriously fickle Donald Trump decide that, after ousting his Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, he needs another scapegoat to take the fall after the GOP's walloping, or decide that the Iran war isn't worth pursuing any longer.
uncertain
war → fire → walloping
Firing would certainly be the fastest route to Hegseth's departure and the option preferred by four Pentagon insiders the Daily Mail spoke with who fear the defense secretary will prod the administration toward another round of major attacks against Iran, as the president has been threatening.
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president → prefer → Iran
Pete Hegseth's future hangs in the balance after Republicans suffered devastating midterm losses amid mounting backlash over the Iran War
Trump has defended him publicly but he could yet still be fired should the notoriously fickle president decide that, after ousting his Chief of Staff Susie Wiles (right), he needs another scapegoat to take the fall after the GOP's walloping
'This isn't about hoping to see Pete's downfall or wanting retribution,' said one high-level civilian defense staffer who admitted the poor prospects for Hegseth's future 'are enticing.'
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prospects → hang → future
'It's about not losing our personnel to a stage–2 Iran scenario that would be much more deadly than stage 1.'
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that → lose → stage
In an email statement last Thursday, Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell wrote that: 'Secretary Hegseth is 100% committed to leading the Department until the end of President Trump's term in office.
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Hegseth → write → office
'Secretary Hegseth will not back down or be deterred by politicians seeking to score partisan points or launch phony investigations where no wrongdoing exists.
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wrongdoing → back → investigations
The Department of War has followed the law and our Secretary will continue to stand and fight every single day to support and defend the Constitution, lead our troops, and protect America.'
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Secretary → follow → America
Long before last week's midterm drubbing, many of Hegseth's fiercest critics were non-political, military and civilian Pentagon officials who see the 46-year-old former Fox News host as unserious, unqualified, disinterested in the expertise offered him and prioritizing sucking up to Trump over understanding military intelligence, tactics or strategy.
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who → see → intelligence
'A classic showhorse rather than a workhorse,' said one Army official who described a secretary who, soon after his appointment, had a makeup studio built for himself at the Pentagon.
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studio → say → Pentagon
Trump has remained loyal to his war chief despite a blunder in 2025 when Hegseth shared sensitive classified information about an imminent US military strike on Yemen with his wife and a journalist.
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Hegseth → remain → wife
Trump has continued to praise his war chief despite the Republican Party's election defeat, insisting that Hegseth is doing a 'very good job'
The former Fox News host has emerged as one of the most divisive figures in Trump's administrations, with insiders describing him as a stubborn leader whose voluntary resignation is unlikely
The commander in chief stood by him despite Hegseth's legally questionable boat strikes in the Caribbean and decisions to fire several top military commanders, leaving a leadership vacuum at the Pentagon.
And he has defended him despite overriding his decision to livestream the execution of the wheelchair-bound Fort Hood shooter and despite frustrations that Hegseth downplayed the extent to which American bases were damaged and munitions stockpiles were depleted during the height of Operation Epic Fury last winter.
Trump is said to personally like the defense chief who embodies a bare-knuckled machismo and, some insiders say, a ruthlessness that the president admires.
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president → continue → that
While the testosterone-obsessed secretary who has called for 'no fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos' in the armed forces strikes many in the Pentagon as petty and mean, the president is reported to enjoy his swagger.
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president → obsess → swagger
'Pete Hegseth understood the job well in terms of the administration.
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Hegseth → understand → administration
He was performing for an audience of one and was able to tailor his message to the sense of bravado his boss wants to convey,' said Kelly Grieco, a senior fellow focusing on defense policy at the Stimson Center, a DC-based thinktank.
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Grieco → perform → Center
'The problem is, at a certain point, images aren't enough while the costs are piling up.
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costs → pile → point
As many times Pete Hegseth said we're winning the war, people's prices at the gas pumps were telling the truth.'
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prices → say → truth
The Daily Mail reported last month that some Pentagon insiders have spent much of the last 22 months compiling emails, memos and meeting notes detailing times Hegseth and his inner circle have allegedly ignored strategic and legal advice, berated the experts who gave it, withheld information from Congress and the public, and threatened the careers of subordinates who either challenged his decisions or irked him for what he perceived as being too woke, fat, queer or disloyal.
uncertain
he → report → what
They figured the paper trail – plus a list of potential witnesses from inside the department and a series of recent secret, away-from-the-Pentagon meetings with Congress members and their staffers – might come in handy if Democrats retook the House and launched an impeachment investigation in 2027.
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Democrats → figure → 2027
Tuesday's election results surprised them – along with much of the country – by bringing not just strong Democratic control of the House, but also of the Senate.
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results → surprise → Senate
By Wednesday, not just Dems, but also Republicans were openly dissing Hegseth for having been overly optimistic about the war, underestimating its risks and complications and promising, wrongly, that it would be short and decisive like the capture of ousted Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.
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it → diss → Maduro
The White House has more or less acknowledged the link between the election outcome and Iran.
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House → acknowledge → outcome
Vice President JD Vance posted a blunt midterm post-mortem reading: 'The reason we lost is the war.'
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we → post → reading
Vice President JD Vance addressed the crushing midterms defeat saying: 'The reason we lost is the war'
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we → address → defeat
'If you'd like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so.
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losing → like → years
Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay.
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it → argue → ?
Agree or disagree, that's at least honest,' the Vice President went on.
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President → agree → ?
'But everyone knows why we lost.
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we → know → ?
And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.'
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we → go → ?
Trump, for his part, has been more tempered.
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Trump → temper → part
'Iran was a piece of it,' he told The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday night, although he defended his decision to wage the war.
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he → tell → war
Trump reiterated his backing of Hegseth last Wednesday, saying: 'I think he's doing a very good job.'
Still, the president is reported to be privately asking aides and congressional allies whether he should boot Hegseth much the way former president George W Bush fired Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld the morning after the 2006 midterm elections when voter discontent over the war in Iraq helped Democrats win control of Congress.
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Democrats → reiterate → Congress
…and 30 more, not listed.
The Aporia
