Pete Hegseth, under fire from Republicans over his role in the Iran war

Will Pete Hegseth remain in his post as defense secretary? It is one of the big questions hanging over Washington ahead of the arrival of a new Congress with a sizable Democratic majority and amid growing recriminations within Donald Trump’s administration over the war with Iran and the role the conflict may have played in the Republicans’ crushing defeat in Tuesday’s midterm elections. A lawmaker from Hegseth’s own party plans to initiate impeachment proceedings against him next week.Hegseth insists he is staying put. In a video shared on social media on Thursday and filmed outside the Defense Department, he mocked the prospect of being impeached. “Didn’t work against President Trump” in 2020 and 2021. “It won’t work with me. You can rest assured of that.” Trump has repeatedly expressed support for him, including on Thursday: “He’s doing a fantastic job,” he said. “We have this war with a place called the Islamic Republic of Iran.”But on Capitol Hill, Hegseth is one of the most reviled figures among Democrats, who until now did not have control of Congress. In addition to the defense secretary’s role in the Iran conflict, critics point to strikes against suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and Pacific and to the sweeping changes he has pushed through at the Pentagon, which have included the dismissal of dozens of senior officers with distinguished careers who disagreed with him and his priorities.Hostility toward the former Fox News host can also be detected among Republicans themselves, who are searching for a scapegoat after Tuesday’s electoral drubbing. Criticism from Vice President J. D. Vance, who on Wednesday explicitly blamed the war with Iran for voters’ widespread rejection of the party, has opened the door to that line of attack.Before Trump gave the green light to the war that began on February 28, Hegseth was one of the leading advocates of intervention within the White House national security team.Even after the fighting was underway, he continued to vigorously defend what he portrayed as successful operations, despite the fact that the campaign was dragging on far beyond the “two or three days” initially forecast and was consuming U.S. strategic munitions at an alarming rate.“If the president is serious about anyone taking responsibility for it, it’s Pete Hegseth,” a Republican source close to the White House told CNN. “Pete has been either dishonest or incorrect — neither of which are acceptable — about timelines, goals and objectives since the beginning.” An impeachment trial?Republican Senator Thomas Massie of Kentucky is expected to launch proceedings aimed at impeaching the Pentagon chief over his role in the war. Massie, a staunch critic of U.S. military interventions abroad, had already tried to take that step in September, but Congress’s recess during the election campaign prevented it.His renewed effort, which would force a vote in the House of Representatives on the matter, could come as soon as next week, once Congress resumes its legislative session.In September, Massie accused Hegseth of continuing the war without the congressional authorization required to do so. He also ordered, according to the senator, the military operation that captured Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela on January 3 without the necessary constitutional authority. And he did not obtain judicial authorization for strikes against suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific.“Secretary Hegseth’s constitutional violations extend beyond the illegal war in Iran,” the senator said. “He is abusing the power of his office to ignore congressional war powers resolutions, to kidnap foreign leaders, and to intimidate critics of the Trump administration by retaliating against them for exercising free speech.” Massie has little to lose by taking on the Pentagon chief. He is about to leave Congress after losing the Kentucky Republican primary to a challenger backed by Trump, leaving him with only two months remaining in office.So far, Trump has publicly stood by his defense secretary. On Wednesday, he told reporters covering the White House that Hegseth was “doing a great job.” Speaking to ABC News on Thursday, he doubled down: “I have every intention to keep him,” he said. He also revealed that he had received calls from contacts urging him to dismiss Hegseth: “I don’t understand why.”But it would not be the first time that the president has publicly expressed support for an ally only to abandon that person shortly afterward. And in his comments to ABC, Trump acknowledged that it would be easier to secure confirmation of a replacement before the new Democratic-controlled Congress is sworn in. Under U.S. law, every Cabinet secretary must be confirmed by the Senate.A growing list of criticsEven if Massie ultimately decides not to move forward in the coming days or weeks, the queue of lawmakers seeking to investigate Hegseth is growing longer. Democratic Representative Adam Smith, who is expected to take over the House Armed Services Committee, announced that his top priority will be “vigorous” oversight of the Pentagon in a letter sent to fellow lawmakers.The defense secretary dismissed the top legal advisers for each branch of the armed forces shortly after arriving at the Pentagon. Since then, the list of firings has continued to grow. Hegseth has also blocked the promotion of female and Black officers while loudly criticizing the diversity and inclusion policies of previous administrations, which he argues unfairly advanced officers who lacked the necessary qualifications.Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition