‘He’s doing a good job’: Trump responds to Pete Hegseth firing reports after GOP midterm losses
WASHINGTON, DC: Donald Trump has moved to dismiss reports suggesting that he is considering firing Pete Hegseth following the GOP's significant losses in the midterm elections.
The 80-year-old president clarified that he has no intention of removing the Defense Secretary, despite reports claiming that he had been asking advisers and others over the phone whether Hegseth should remain in his position.
Reports of Hegseth's possible firing began circulating after Republicans suffered significant losses in Tuesday's elections, losing seven Senate seats, with two more potentially at risk, and at least 29 seats in the House.
The results shifted control of Congress to Democrats, who are expected to challenge Trump's legislative agenda and nominations, launch investigations into his administration and potentially pursue a third impeachment of the president.
The Iran war and its economic fallout loomed large in the election, with Hegseth among the administration's most vocal advocates for the military campaign.
Trump dismisses reports of Pete Hegseth's firing
As the war he launched against Iran in February continued to cast a shadow over his administration, Trump was asked on Wednesday, November 4, whether he was considering replacing Hegseth.
Trump defended Hegseth, saying, "I think he’s doing a very good job," when asked about replacing him.
The president was also asked whether he would like to see Hegseth appointed to fill the Senate seat that will be vacated by Tennessee Sen Marsha Blackburn when she takes office as governor.
"I actually think he'd be very popular if he did that," Trump said, "but I haven't heard that at all."
His response came in direct contrast with that of former President George W 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.
Meanwhile, one source told CBS News that Florida Gov Ron DeSantis has emerged as a potential successor to Hegseth.
The 48-year-old governor, whose term expires in January, could still secure Senate confirmation before Republicans surrender their majority in the chamber next year, the source suggested.
Pete Hegseth faces growing pressure after GOP losses
Despite Trump's support, a White House official predicted that the president would ultimately hold Hegseth, a former Fox News host, accountable, saying, "That will play out in the lame duck."
Another foreign policy source with ties to Hegseth expressed doubt to Fox News Digital that the secretary would remain in the job through the end of the year.
The source said Republican Kentucky Rep Thomas Massie's impeachment push could force Republicans eyeing 2028 re-election bids to "saddle themselves with a pro-Hegseth vote."
Meanwhile, a source noted that Hegseth's clearest path out of the Pentagon, ironically, could be a move to the Senate, if he secured Tennessee Gov-elect Marsha Blackburn's support for an appointment to her vacated seat.
However, Hegseth ruled out this option, with Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell insisting that “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,”
