Embattled Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is facing growing questions from some of his usually loyal Republican allies over Iran, while his potential escape route if President Trump fires him has become increasingly uncertain.
As Trump weighs a Cabinet shake-up following the blue wave, Hegseth has emerged as one possible casualty.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, told NewsNation on Friday morning that “there’s a lot of questions about Hegseth.”
Comer said Hegseth’s future ultimately rests with President Donald Trump. However, with impeachment efforts against the secretary expected as early as next week, some of his Republican allies are expressing doubts.
“We have no idea what the strategy is moving forward in Iran,” the pro-Trump lawmaker said. “No one’s happy about Iran, and I think the Republican voters are more upset about what’s going on in Iran than the Democratic voters.”
Two sources close to Hegseth told the Daily Mail that he could be a strong candidate for Senator Marsha Blackburn’s soon-to-be vacant Senate seat in Tennessee, where he has lived since 2022.
However, those sources said Hegseth’s team remains confident that he can weather the pressure and stay on as Pentagon chief.
A Pentagon official told the Daily Mail that Hegseth plans on “staying until the end of the president’s term.”
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth was rumored to be under consideration for a US Senate seat in Tennessee, a potentially comfortable landing spot amid speculation that Trump could oust him over his handling of the Iran war and Tuesday’s election defeat
Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn, the state’s governor-elect, is expected to have the power to choose her own Senate successor after taking office as governor
Trump has said he believes Hegseth could make a strong Tennessee governor
The source cited a defiant video Hegseth posted on social media this week, in which he told viewers that he was not going anywhere.
Blackburn’s camp, meanwhile, says the governor-elect is focused on her new responsibilities and is not considering Hegseth for the Senate position.
According to a transition source, Blackburn’s team has received calls from elected officials opposing a potential Hegseth appointment. The source described the reaction as a “big backlash.”
“Hegseth is not being considered,” the source said, dismissing reports of a possible nomination as “spin.”
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Neither Blackburn’s Senate office nor her transition team responded when asked whether she had spoken with Hegseth about the potential appointment or met with him regarding the seat.
Without the Senate seat as a potential landing spot, Hegseth’s next move would remain unclear if Trump decided to remove him.
Trump defended his Pentagon chief this week, saying that “he’s doing a very good job” and that Hegseth “would be very popular” if appointed to the Tennessee Senate.
“But I haven’t heard that at all,” the president added, appearing to dismiss the speculation.
Sources told the Daily Mail that Blackburn is considering naming either Congressman Tim Burchett or Knoxville Mayor Glenn Jacobs to the Senate seat early next year
Blackburn speaks with former Knox County Mayor and former professional wrestler Glenn Jacobs, right, at a campaign rally on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, in Hendersonville
Hegseth attended a University of Tennessee football game in October with Burchett, who is pictured over his shoulder
The 46-year-old secretary has also built up a list of adversaries around Capitol Hill, including some members of his own party.
Outgoing North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican who retired after Trump tried to oust him—with the seat subsequently turning blue on Tuesday—launched a blistering attack on Hegseth for “wasting taxpayer dollars on campaign style videos.”
“This is about you: 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,” Tillis wrote in a social media post directed at Hegseth.
Tillis accused Hegseth of using a video released this week as a wasteful campaign-style advertisement and issued a veiled warning: “Kristi Noem learned that the hard way.”
Hegseth is expected to face a Republican-led impeachment effort that could begin as soon as Congress returns from recess next week.
Congressman Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who has clashed with Trump, has threatened to introduce articles of impeachment unless Hegseth resigns.
Reports suggest that several Republican lawmakers are prepared to support the effort after the Democrats’ decisive victory, which forced many remaining House Republicans out of office.
Pentagon Chief Spokesman Sean Parnell convened a meeting with Department of War political appointees on Wednesday to discuss an “aggressive defense of Secretary Hegseth and the President’s agenda” following the impeachment threat, a Department of War source told the Daily Mail.