By Phil Stewart and Steve Holland
WASHINGTON, Nov 4 (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump backed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, a day after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in midterm elections that reflected voter anger over the Iran war.
Asked whether he was considering replacing Hegseth, whom he has described as a champion of the war, Trump told reporters: “No, I think he’s doing a very good job.”
The response contrasted with then-President George Bush, who fired Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld the morning after the 2006 midterm elections, when voter discontent over the Iraq war helped Democrats win control of Congress.
But sources said Trump could still replace Hegseth as Republicans assess their losses.
One Trump adviser said Hegseth “could be on the chopping block” because of the war. “Someone is going to get blamed for this and you know it’s not going to be him (Trump),” the adviser said.
Trump has described Hegseth as a key proponent of the unpopular conflict, saying on March 23: “Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up, and you said, ‘Let’s do it, because you can’t let them have a nuclear weapon.'”
On Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance publicly questioned whether the Iran war was worth it and said it cost Republicans control of Congress.
Asked for comment, the White House referred Reuters to Trump’s public remarks on Hegseth.
The Defense Department said Hegseth was “100 percent committed” to leading the Pentagon until the end of Trump’s term, which ends on Jan. 20, 2029.
IMPEACHMENT THREAT
Hegseth has been a polarizing figure in American politics and has made enemies even with his own Republican Party. One Republican lawmaker, US Representative Thomas Massie, even filed articles of impeachment against him earlier this year, accusing him of abusing his office by launching hostilities against Iran without approval by Congress.
Republican US Senator Thom Tillis told CBS news on Tuesday night that Hegseth has “a reckoning” coming and his strained relationship with lawmakers was undermining the Trump administration’s push for a $1.5 trillion defense spending package in Congress.
“I think after the election, we need to determine whether or not he’s the best person to bring those needs to Congress if he wants something done before the end of this Congress, which is only 60 days away,” Tillis said as the midterm results came in.
Democrats have promised to investigate Hegseth and his handling of the Pentagon, and aides say that could include everything from his handling of the Iran war to his purges of top military officers including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
He could also face scrutiny over his Ukraine policy and US military strikes on suspected drug trafficking boats in Latin American waters, which some Democrats say could amount to war crimes.
At times, the conflict between Hegseth and members of Congress has become personal. Last year, Hegseth sought to prosecute Democratic US Senator Mark Kelly after he and five other Democrats in Congress with backgrounds in the military and intelligence urged US troops to refuse illegal orders.
Hegseth accused them of sedition.
Representative Adam Smith, the Democrat who is expected to lead the House Armed Services Committee next year, promised vigorous oversight on everything from the Iran war to what he called the erosion of the “apolitical foundation of the armed forces.”
A source familiar with the matter said rancor on Capitol Hill over Hegseth has featured in White House discussions about potential replacements for him, saying there would be a need to have someone in the job who could distance themselves from events under Democratic scrutiny.
Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Hegseth would continue to drive Trump’s agenda and that the Pentagon “has followed the law.”
“Secretary Hegseth will not back down or be deterred by politicians seeking to score partisan points or launch phony investigations where no wrongdoing exists,” Parnell said.
TENNESSEE SENATE SEAT?
One long-rumored possibility for Hegseth would be filling the Senate seat that will be vacated by Senator Marsha Blackburn, who was elected on Tuesday to become Tennessee’s next governor starting in January.
She has four years left in her term, and Hegseth, a Tennessee resident who voted there on Tuesday, could be appointed to the position, without having to run for election.
Asked whether he wanted Hegseth to fill Blackburn’s seat, Trump said: “Well, I think, I think he’s doing a very good job, and I actually think he’d be very popular if he did that.”
“But I haven’t heard that at all,” Trump told reporters.
Trump has regularly praised Hegseth publicly, and has given the former Army National Guard soldier significant leeway as he sought to reshape the Pentagon.
But last month Trump publicly split with Hegseth by pulling the plug on his plans to livestream the Army’s firing-squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan.
Many fellow Republicans, along with religious leaders and international observers, raised objections to the plan. Defense officials privately expressed relief that the livestreaming would not go forward.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Steve Holland; additional reporting by Gram Slattery; Editing by Don Durfee and Sanjeev Miglani)
