The conventional wisdom around the corridors of Washington a few weeks ago was that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth was headed for the exit.
asserted
Hegseth → head → exit
Indeed, speculation raged for months that President Donald Trump wasn’t happy with Hegseth.
asserted
was → rag → Hegseth
In particular, a Washington Post story from August reported that Trump and Hegseth clashed at Camp David about munitions shortages caused by the war in Iran, and why the president had apparently been misled about the problem.
asserted
president → report → problem
It was the latest in a series of controversies that seemed to pit the Pentagon against the White House.
asserted
that → seem → House
Earlier, reports indicated Hegseth’s department had unilaterally paused weapons shipments to Ukraine and scaled back the US troop presence in Romania.
asserted
department → indicate → Romania
Moreover, Hegseth clashed with top military personnel, and replaced several of them.
asserted
Hegseth → clash → them
There was an air of chaos and churn around the defence secretary, and Trump acknowledged receiving complaints.
asserted
Trump → be → complaints
There were strong parallels with 2006, when Republican president George W. Bush fired his defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, the day after a devastating midterm election when the GOP lost control of both chambers.
asserted
GOP → be → chambers
That dismissal also took place amid the increasingly unpopular war in Iraq, which had become the exact kind of quagmire that Rumsfeld famously said “I don’t do”.
asserted
I → take → quagmire
Even though Hegseth was executing Trump’s orders in Iran, he loomed as a potential fall guy for a war that was never popular and grew less so after initial peace plans collapsed.
asserted
plans → execute → war
But the midterm election results – delivering control of both chambers to the Democrats, with big majorities – changed the equation.
asserted
results → deliver → equation
The Trump White House is now under siege, and preparing to fight.
asserted
House → prepare → siege
Trump has said so himself, and appointed hardline loyalist Stephen Miller as his chief of staff, replacing the more establishment Republican Susie Wiles.
asserted
Trump → say → Wiles
This is a White House that is going to war, and its instinct is to defend its people.
asserted
instinct → go → people
So when Hegseth faced an impeachment push from a Republican congressman, Thomas Massie, he was no longer liability but a potential victim – and Trump does not want to lose.
asserted
Trump → face → congressman
“In any normal political environment, getting impeached would be a bad thing for a cabinet member,” said Josh Rogin, security analyst at the Washington Post’s WP Intelligence unit, on CNN this week.
asserted
Rogin → impeach → CNN
And what Thomas Massie has done is inadvertently throw Pete Hegseth a lifeline.
asserted
done → do → lifeline
“A week ago, we all thought he was on his way out the door.
asserted
he → think → door
Now he’s got the full backing of the president, and he’s making content off of it.
asserted
he → get → it
The administration managed to keep every House Republican in line to defend Hegseth from impeachment on Tuesday (US time), except for Massie.
asserted
administration → manage → Massie
The attempt failed after 11 Democrats failed to show up to vote, including former speaker Nancy Pelosi, who returned to San Francisco for a Veterans Day event.
asserted
who → fail → event
Others said they were stuck in traffic after attending an off-site “new member reception”.
asserted
they → say → reception
While next year’s changing of the guard will mean Democrats can easily impeach Hegseth in the House, they would not have anywhere near the two-thirds majority needed to convict him in the Senate.
asserted
they → mean → Senate
As Rogin observed, it allows Hegseth to play the martyr, while Trump can decry the Democrats’ impeachment attempts as lawfare and weaponisation.
asserted
Trump → observe → lawfare
In a performance that won praise from the president, Hegseth used a rare Pentagon news conference to link his plight with Trump’s.
asserted
Hegseth → win → Trump
“They” had impeached Trump twice before, he said.
asserted
he → impeach → Trump
“Now, they’re trying a third time, this time against a member of his cabinet.
asserted
they → try → cabinet
“They will fail again.
asserted
They → fail → ?
And if standing with President Trump puts me in that company, I’ll take that company every day of the week.”
asserted
I → stand → week
Trump gave Hegseth a shout-out during his Veterans Day remarks on Wednesday, prompting a resounding cheer from the crowd.
asserted
Trump → give → crowd
“I had a feeling that was going to happen,” the president remarked.
asserted
president → have → feeling
The defence secretary could still be forced out if it becomes politically expedient.
uncertain
it → force → ?
He is reportedly interested in a Senate vacancy caused by the Republican senator for Tennessee, Marsha Blackburn, being elected governor of that state.
uncertain
vacancy → cause → state
And it’s the latter that will keep him in the job.
asserted
that → ’ → job
- ‘Exoneration’: Republicans shield Hegseth from impeachment
-
asserted
Republicans → shield → impeachment
Trump’s triumphal arch has new enemies – the Kennedys
asserted
arch → have → enemies
- Analysis: Europe wants to stop Trump being a patsy for Putin
- Iran war: Trump says conflict is ‘militarily effectively over’
- Chinese spy probe: Trump’s ties to Nvidia billionaire under scrutiny
-
asserted
conflict → want → scrutiny
Peter Hartcher: How Trump could become an accidental climate saviour
uncertain
Trump → become → ?
Jon Ossoff: Meet the man who could be the next president, and his brilliant Australian mum
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world.
uncertain
what → meet → world
The Aporia
