Trump Backs Hegseth After Midterm Losses as Massie Pushes Impeachment Vote
Photo: The Guardian USPresident Donald Trump said Wednesday he is not considering replacing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a day after Republicans lost both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections, saying Hegseth is doing a very good job. The White House later said Trump has full confidence in him. CBS News had reported that Trump asked top aides whether Hegseth should keep his job. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, has filed eight articles of impeachment and said he will bring them forward when the House returns next week unless Hegseth resigns. Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that the Iran war is why Republicans lost. Democrats are projected to win at least 250 of 435 House seats. Trump also said Hegseth would be popular if he sought Sen. Marsha Blackburn's Tennessee seat, which opens after her governor's win, but said he had not heard of such a plan.
Left-leaning outlets frame the story around Republican fallout and Trump's weakened position. The Guardian leads with Hegseth possibly taking the fall, citing a former senior Pentagon official and a Republican close to the White House who told CNN that Hegseth was dishonest or incorrect about timelines and goals. Slate widens the lens to tariffs, high prices, a possible veto override needing about 40 Republicans, and the fading fear of Trump inside the GOP. The right-leaning Washington Examiner leads with Massie's ultimatum, quotes Vance's X post at length, and cites Sen. Ted Cruz, with little on Trump's standing. Both sides report Trump's public backing, Massie's push and Vance's blame of the war. Alternative outlets add the Senate-seat remark, Speaker Mike Johnson's early recess, and Democratic criticism of strikes on suspected drug vessels that killed at least 240.
How the sides differ Left sources stress Hegseth as a possible scapegoat and Trump's weakened grip; right sources lead with Massie's resign-or-impeach ultimatum and Republican blame of the Iran war.
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The Guardian leads with Hegseth as a possible scapegoat, quoting unnamed Republicans and a former Pentagon official via CNN. Slate focuses on tariffs, prices, Democratic majorities and Trump's diminished leverage over the GOP.
Antiwar.com highlights Trump's denial, his Tennessee Senate seat remark and Speaker Johnson's early recess. Newsweek adds the White House's full-confidence statement, Democratic criticism over drug-vessel strikes, and GOP concern about Pentagon friction.
The Washington Examiner leads with Massie's resign-or-be-impeached ultimatum and quotes Vance's X post blaming the Iran war, noting other GOP leaders, including Sen. Ted Cruz, are weighing in.