Trump Says He Is Not Considering Replacing Defense Secretary Hegseth
On Wednesday, 4 November, Donald Trump said he was not considering replacing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. "No, I think he's doing a very good job," Trump said.
The remark came after a New York Post report that Trump had weighed making Hegseth take the blame for Republican losses in the November 2026 midterm elections. Midterms are the congressional elections held halfway through a president's term. According to the Guardian, voters and Trump have named the war in Iran as a key reason for the Republican losses. Vice President JD Vance has publicly questioned whether the Iran war was worth it, and said it cost Republicans control of Congress.
Hegseth, whose full name is Peter Brian Hegseth, advocates for the Iran war and oversees it as defense secretary. The Trump administration also refers to him as Secretary of War. Trump said on 23 March that Hegseth was the first to speak up for military action against Iran to prevent it from getting a nuclear weapon.
Criticism of Hegseth has also come from Congress. Thomas Massie, a Republican congressman from Kentucky, introduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth in September. Impeachment is the process by which the House of Representatives formally brings charges against a federal official. Massie's articles include charges related to the Iran war and accuse Hegseth of abusing the power of his office by knowingly carrying out unlawful orders. Massie has also asserted that Hegseth is operating in violation of three provisions of the War Powers laws, which set rules on the use of military force. The Guardian reports that Massie plans to force a House vote on impeaching Hegseth.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis said Hegseth had "a reckoning" coming. Separately, the Trump administration is pushing Congress to pass a $1.5 trillion defense spending package.
Adam Smith, a Democratic representative, is expected to lead the House Armed Services Committee, the panel that oversees the military, next year. Smith has promised vigorous oversight of the Iran war. He also spoke of what he called the erosion of the "apolitical foundation of the armed forces."
