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President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he has no intention of removing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, dismissing reports that he was considering a change after Republicans' midterm election losses.
"No, I think he's doing a very good job," Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday when asked whether he was considering replacing Hegseth.
Trump's public backing came as CBS News reported on Wednesday, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter, that the president had been asking advisers in person and by phone whether Hegseth should keep his job after Tuesday's losses. Other sources cited in the report said no decision had been made. The White House said Hegseth retains Trump's support, and spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the president "has full confidence in Secretary Hegseth."
Hegseth, a former Fox News host who advocated for and oversaw the Iran war, faces growing pressure from both parties. Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, plans to force a House vote on articles of impeachment against Hegseth when Congress returns next week. Senator Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, said on Tuesday night that "Pete Hegseth has a reckoning," blaming the defense chief for stalled Pentagon spending legislation. Representative Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat and Army veteran on the House Armed Services Committee, pledged on Wednesday to work relentlessly to oust Hegseth from office.
Democrats, who won control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday's midterms, are preparing to use their new majorities to investigate Hegseth and the administration's handling of the Iran war, with a possible push for his removal next year. Even if the House impeaches Hegseth, removing him from office would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate, where Republicans retain their majority until the new Congress convenes in January.
Trump also acknowledged on Wednesday that the Iran war contributed to Republicans' losses. "I think it's largely true because it drove the gasoline up a little bit short term," he said of the electoral impact, but insisted he would make the same decision again because Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Hegseth does not plan to leave. "We will continue to drive [Trump's] agenda at the Department of War, despite threats of sham witch hunts from Democrats, and Secretary Hegseth is 100% committed to leading the Department until the end of President Trump's term in office," Parnell said. Parnell also dismissed the impeachment threat, saying Hegseth would "not back down or be deterred by politicians seeking to score partisan points or launch phony investigations where no wrongdoing exists."
Not everyone around the White House is convinced Hegseth will survive. A White House official said Trump could still hold Hegseth accountable, saying "that will play out in the lame duck," and a foreign policy source with ties to Hegseth expressed doubt that the secretary would remain in the job through the end of the year. CBS News reported that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is being floated as a possible replacement who could be confirmed during the lame-duck session.