President Donald Trump voiced support for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, a day after Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate in midterm elections that reflected voter anger over the war with Iran, according to الشرق الأوسط.
Asked whether he was considering replacing Hegseth, whom Trump has described as one of the strongest advocates for the war, the president told reporters: "No, I think he's doing a very good job."
Why it matters
The exchange carries weight because of the precedent it echoes. Former President George W. Bush dismissed Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld the morning after the 2006 midterms, when voter discontent over the Iraq war helped Democrats take the Congress. Trump's response this week was the opposite, at least in public.
But the backing may not be final. Sources told الشرق الأوسط that Trump could still change his mind on Hegseth while Republicans continue to assess their losses.
One Trump adviser said Hegseth "may be on the verge of losing his position" because of the war. "Someone will be held responsible for this, and it stands to reason that person will not be him," the adviser said, referring to the president.
Trump has previously cast Hegseth as a leading voice for the unpopular conflict. On March 23, he said: "Pete, I think you were the first to raise your voice and say, let's do it, because we can't let them have a nuclear weapon."
Pressure from inside the party
Vice President JD Vance publicly questioned the value of the Iran war on Wednesday, saying it had cost Republicans control of Congress, according to الشرق الأوسط.
The Defense Department said Hegseth is "100 percent committed" to leading the Pentagon through the end of Trump's term on January 20, 2029.
Hegseth has long been a polarizing figure in American politics and has made enemies even within his own Republican Party. Representative Thomas Massie, a Republican lawmaker, filed a memo earlier this year seeking to hold him accountable and remove him, accusing him of abusing his office by waging combat operations against Iran without congressional approval.
Senator Tom Tillis, a Republican, told CBS News on Tuesday night that a "reckoning" for Hegseth is coming, and that his strained relations with lawmakers are undermining the administration's effort to pass a $1.5 trillion defense spending package through Congress.
Speaking as midterm results came in, Tillis said: "I think after the election we have to determine whether he is the right person to present those needs to Congress, if he wants to accomplish something before the end of the current congressional session, which has only 60 days left."
Democrats have promised to investigate Hegseth and his management of the Pentagon. Aides say that could cover everything from his handling of the war against Iran to the dismissals he carried out, which included senior military officers such as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
He could also face scrutiny over his policy toward Ukraine and over U.S. military strikes on boats suspected of involvement in drug trafficking in Latin American territorial waters, which some Democrats say may amount to war crimes.
What to watch: whether Trump's public support holds as Republicans work through their losses and the defense spending package moves through a Congress with only 60 days left in its current session.
