Hegseth Fights For His Future — Again

Pete Hegseth is facing attacks on all sides, from speculation inside the White House about his future to Democratic warnings to lawyer up before the new Congress. So the Defense secretary is following the playbook he has used for the past two years: dig in.

He posted a nearly six-minute video on social media Thursday laying out his accomplishments in the role and declaring that “just like the president, we don’t back down.” The White House and Pentagon aides quickly shared the video, and President Donald Trump insisted publicly that he’s not planning to fire his loyal Cabinet member.

Friday’s news that White House chief of staff Susie Wiles would depart and be replaced by her deputy, Stephen Miller — who has been supportive of the Defense secretary — further added to the uncertainty about what other administration changes could be coming. Hegseth, soon after the announcement, posted an image of himself with Miller and a phrase from the video: “Stand. Fight. Defend the Republic.”

But after voters tossed Republicans out of power across the country — driven partly by anger over the Iran war's economic costs — White House discussions about whether Hegseth should stay have intensified, according to two senior administration officials. He faces an impeachment vote as early as next week, launched by a member of his own party. And Democrats have already promised to make investigating his actions a key focus of their agenda. These are ominous signs for even one of Trump’s closest political allies.

“A lot of the senior staff would tell you that they believe Pete should go, that he’s not been good,” said one of the senior administration officials. “It’s just been a culmination, and I think it all came to a head [on election] night.”

Hegseth has long molded his public persona as a Trump-style hyperpartisan combatant, seeking to punish Democratic military veterans in Congress for their criticisms of the administration and firing Pentagon officials he deemed too “woke,” even as he championed the deeply unpopular conflict with Iran.

But the turmoil that has engulfed the Pentagon leader since his nearly failed confirmation vote is starting to catch up to him. Outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has launched the impeachment proceedings for alleged high crimes and misdemeanors, including the Pentagon’s boat strikes in the Caribbean and the Iran war. Even if he survives that — a handful of Republican defections would likely be all that’s needed to impeach him — months of bruising investigations run by congressional Democrats back in power will upend any plans Hegseth had for the second half of the term.

“I can tell you that there's a lot of questions about Hegseth,” Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), who leads the House Oversight Committee, told NewsNation on Friday. “We have no idea what the strategy is moving forward on Iran.”

Hegseth could choose to resign rather than face congressional probes and impeachment proceedings. But finding a candidate to replace him, particularly one that a Democratic-led Senate would confirm, could prove challenging — especially for a new chief of staff.

“Do you want to waste a lot of political capital and investigation after investigation defending somebody who's such a fire-breather and wants to bring the ship down with him?” said a former administration official after the Miller announcement, who speaks with the White House and, like others, was granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations. "Do we really want to start off our term having a fight to the death battle over Hegseth?”

The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Pentagon officials defended the Defense secretary as simply doing his job.

Hegseth “will not back down or be deterred by politicians seeking to score partisan points or launch phony investigations where no wrongdoing exists,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said. He “is 100% committed to leading the department until the end of President Trump’s term in office.”

The video is just the start of a public campaign that Hegseth spokesperson Joel Valdez said in a statement on Thursday will define his fight for survival. “What we’ve learned from this president is never back down and fight, fight, fight!”

But it comes as Trump weighs a renewed bombing campaign in Iran and with the likelihood of his record-shattering $1.5 trillion budget looking nearly impossible. Even now, the Pentagon is operating on a temporary budget that needs congressional buy-in to resolve.

“Pete is focused on three things: survival, survival, and survival,” said a U.S. official. “He wants to survive long enough where he can leave on his own terms. … He wants to survive to preserve a political future.”

Hegseth has a history of conquering controversies. He made it through a brutal Senate confirmation hearing, a scandal about using Signal to share classified information, public reprimands for wanting to livestream the execution of a convicted Army major, and the firing of numerous well-respectedgenerals and admirals.

But this newest fight sees him with fewer allies than ever.

Several House Republicans are expecting the impeachment measure to pass after Tuesday’s catastrophic loss, with some members looking to blame the war for the result. Even if only a handful of Republicans support the measure, it’s unclear how many of the dozens of GOP members who lost their seats will even show up to vote next week.

“With the absences I expect from our side, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it passed,” a House Republican said. “Assuming Trump doesn’t extricate him first.”

House GOP leaders haven’t started whipping for the vote expected next week, according to four people familiar with internal plans, ahead of next week’s leadership elections.

Some Republicans are already voicing their concerns. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who is retiring at the end of the year, has said for months that he regrets his vote to confirm Hegseth.

“This is about you,” Tillis said in a Friday social media post, referring to the Defense secretary. “The incompetence you’ve displayed, the bad advice you’ve given to the president, and your shameful and embarrassing episodes from firing our top generals to texting war plans to reporters.”

Mia McCarthy and Connor O’Brien contributed to this report.