Hegseth Faces Pressure Over Iran War Fallout and Wife's Pay From Trump-Linked Firm

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced pressure on two fronts after Tuesday's midterm elections. CBS News reported that President Donald Trump has asked advisers whether Hegseth should keep his job, and Politico reported on Wednesday that his wife was paid by a Trump-connected consulting firm. CBS's sources said Trump has not decided and might instead blame Adm. Brad Cooper of U.S. Central Command or Gen. Dan Caine, the Joint Chiefs chairman. They named Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a possible replacement. NBC exit polls showed 74 percent of voters called the Iran war a crucial or major factor. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., plans to force a vote on his eight articles of impeachment in the first week of the lame-duck session. Politico reported that Jennifer Hegseth, a former Fox News producer, was paid in 2025 by Watchtower Strategy, which counted Lockheed Martin as a client that year. Her husband's disclosure lists the work but not the amount. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the Hegseths comply with all ethics laws. Watchtower said it hired her for conservative TV media help and that she has not dealt with clients.

The right-leaning Daily Caller covers only the wife story, calling it a swampy side hustle and placing it within corruption allegations against Trump's second administration from watchdogs and congressional Democrats, including the family crypto firm, UAE ties and pardons. It prints the Parnell and Watchtower defenses and, in the excerpt, omits Iran, the midterms and impeachment. On the left, The New Republic leads with Hegseth's possible firing, the election losses, the exit poll, CBS's sources and Massie's impeachment push. Raw Story headlines the uproar over the wife's payments, saying critics across the political spectrum are objecting. Both sides rely on Politico's facts; they differ on whether the story is about ethics and swamp-style profiteering or the war's political cost. Alternative outlet Reason uniquely argues for impeachment over Iran, while ZeroHedge mirrors the wife story.