For almost eight years, Pete Hegseth spent his weekend mornings on the couch at Fox & Friends.
Now, allies believe Democrats could give him the biggest television platform of his career: an impeachment trial of his own.
The 46-year-old Secretary of War is facing a Democratic effort to remove him after the party takes control of Congress in January.
Hegseth’s supporters, however, view the expected wall-to-wall cable coverage as an ideal springboard for a 2028 White House campaign.
Jennifer Hegseth, a former Fox producer who serves as an informal adviser to her husband, has been encouraging him to run, according to a former Trump administration Pentagon official.
‘His wife is a big advocate for a presidential run,’ the insider said.
Hegseth’s allies also see an opportunity as Vice President JD Vance clashes with Donald Trump over the Iran war. ‘With Vance putting some distance between himself and Trump, the MAGA wing is looking for its guy,’ a Republican strategist told the Daily Mail.
Talk of a 2028 bid emerged just over a week after Trump said he had been flooded with calls demanding Hegseth’s dismissal following the GOP’s midterm defeat.
‘I get these calls, you know, about him. I don’t understand why,’ the president told ABC News. Trump has repeatedly said he stands behind Hegseth.
Allies of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth view a potential Democratic impeachment next year as a chance to confront his critics on live television while raising his national profile
Hegseth survived a House impeachment effort this week, but Democrats appear ready to intensify their campaign next year after taking the majority
Hegseth’s impeachment ‘is the perfect setup for a presidential campaign, especially after what they did to Trump, impeaching him twice,’ a source close to him told the Daily Mail
The push to oust the secretary has not gone away. Hegseth narrowly survived a Republican-backed impeachment effort in the House last week.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have both said they want Hegseth removed after Democrats assume control of Congress in January.
‘If we take the Democrats at their word, then they are setting up the perfect White House run for Pete,’ a source close to the secretary told the Daily Mail.
‘It is the perfect setup for a presidential campaign, especially after what they did to Trump, impeaching him twice,’ the source added. ‘If the Democrats don’t want Pete running for president, their smartest thing would be to just sit back.’
An impeachment trial would guarantee extensive cable coverage and put Hegseth, a former Fox News personality, at the center of a national political spectacle.
‘We’re going to get a huge televised media spectacle trial,’ the source said.
‘At the end of it, because the Democrats did not win two-thirds of the Senate, we are going to get an acquittal,’ the source continued. ‘So you have a trial where he’s going to be found not guilty.’
The impeachment process begins in the House, where Democrats are expected to hold a commanding majority, making passage of articles of impeachment likely.
Jennifer Hegseth has privately encouraged her husband to pursue a White House campaign, according to a former Trump administration Pentagon official who spoke to the Daily Mail
Jennifer, a former Fox News producer, has served as an informal adviser to her husband
Vice President JD Vance is considered the leading contender for the 2028 GOP nomination, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio close behind, but Hegseth has positioned himself as a more firmly MAGA-aligned potential successor to Trump
A select group of House lawmakers would then present the case in the Senate, where senators would act as jurors. Conviction and removal require 67 votes. Democrats are projected to hold at least 55 seats—12 short of that threshold—leading Hegseth’s allies to expect him to remain in office.
Some Republicans are already considering Hegseth as a possible 2028 candidate.
‘After the midterms, the lane of the Trump heir got a little bruised, and so there’s this question of is there a lane for an outsider,’ Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, told the Daily Mail.
‘If Pete Hegseth is actually considering running, I think it’s a very logical thing to consider, and I agree.’
Schlapp said impeachment could turn Hegseth into a ‘hero’ for serving as ‘a loyal lieutenant to the president.’ He also argued that the eventual 2028 Republican nominee would need to remain firmly aligned with Trump.
‘It’s about upping your visibility, and I think there’s some truth in terms of if you do an impeachment thing, you know it’ll make him look sympathetic to the MAGA crowd,’ a former Trump administration Pentagon official said.
The political opening may grow as Vance distances himself from the Iran war while Hegseth remains its most visible face in the administration after Trump.
The conflict is currently at a stalemate. The United States has held off on authorizing strikes while maintaining its economic blockade. Trump has described the war as ‘militarily effectively over’ and said additional strikes are ‘highly unlikely,’ although he has also indicated that he does not want to negotiate a peace deal.
The war is broadly unpopular in the United States. A Pew survey published last month found that 65 percent of American adults disapproved of Trump’s handling of the conflict. Its eventual effect on Hegseth’s political ambitions remains uncertain.
‘With Vance putting some distance between himself and Trump after the midterms, the MAGA wing is looking for its guy,’ a Republican strategist told the Daily Mail
‘A steady barrage from the left actually helps Hegseth,’ the Republican strategist said. ‘It puts him in front of the base as a fighter, and with his years at Fox, he knows exactly how to play that.’
The impeachment strategy is not without danger, particularly in a closely divided Senate, the former Pentagon official warned.
‘The Republicans only have 44 votes. The Democrats aren’t that far away, and there’s still a lot of Republicans who don’t like Hegseth.’
A Senate trial could also threaten any agreement Trump needs with Democrats to maintain Pentagon funding at record levels, the official said.
Hegseth’s critics, meanwhile, have dismissed the strategy as political grandstanding.
‘Only Pete Hegseth could look at an impeachment and see a screen test,’ said John Ullyot, a former Deputy Assistant to President Trump and former senior adviser to Secretary Hegseth.
‘A defense secretary auditioning for 2028 while the president needs a steady hand at the Pentagon proves the point: For Pete, the job has always been a platform for performance art and self-promotion.’
The day after midterm results showed Republican candidates suffering major losses nationwide, Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell called a meeting to plan ‘the most aggressive defense of Secretary Hegseth and the president’s agenda ever assembled,’ according to Pentagon spokesman Joel Valdez.
The meeting highlighted how quickly Pentagon officials moved to prepare a defense of the secretary against expected attacks from the incoming Democratic majority.
‘Secretary Hegseth is completely focused on the Department of War’s mission and serving our warfighters to the best of his ability,’ Parnell told the Daily Mail in response to this report.
‘He will not be sidetracked by the Democrats’ partisan show trials. If they choose to weaponize their majority against the Department and the troops, then Secretary Hegseth and his team are fully prepared for the fight. He is not going anywhere.’