Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth thinks a Senate seat would help him avoid impeachment or President Trump giving him the axe.
Puck reports that Hegseth is hoping that Tennessee’s incumbent Senator Marsha Blackburn wins her election for governor next week and appoints him to fill her vacant seat. Hegseth lived in Tennessee for three years before Trump appointed him to the Cabinet. On October 17, Hegseth was spotted at a University of Tennessee football game seated next to Blackburn and Republican Representative Tim Burchett.
Hegseth’s tenure has earned him both Republican and Democratic critics. He has fired or pushed out multiple senior military leaders, endangered U.S. troops with the “Signalgate” group chat scandal, and burned through missile stockpiles in the war with Iran. Outgoing Republican Representative Thomas Massie has led calls for his impeachment, which forced House Speaker Mike Johnson to dismiss the House early to avoid embarrassment.
Last week, The Telegraph reported that current and former Pentagon officials are ready and willing to “spill their guts” if Congress moves to investigate and impeach Hegseth.
“There’s going to be a lot of people that are going to very quietly go to the chair of the Armed [Services] Committee and are going to spill their guts, provide them with everything they can and leak everything they can,” an anonymous source told the British newspaper. “It’ll be horrendous. It’ll be consistent embarrassment.”
The Pentagon denies that Hegseth is seeking such an escape.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, Secretary Hegseth’s singular priority is leading the War Department and delivering on the President’s America First agenda,” Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson told The Independent.
Hegseth’s plan might run into resistance, as Burchett is also eyeing the seat, and has spent much of the year campaigning for Blackburn. With Trump’s unpopularity shattering presidential records and next week’s midterm results looking worse and worse, it’s only natural that the rats will want to start fleeing the ship. Will Republicans look to protect Hegseth, or leave him to his fate?