Trump Backs Hegseth After Midterm Losses as Impeachment Push and Wife's Consulting Pay Draw Scrutiny

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is doing a very good job, a day after Democrats won control of both the House and Senate in midterm elections. CBS News reported that Trump had asked advisers whether Hegseth should stay because of the Iran war, which NBC exit polls showed 74 percent of voters called a crucial or major factor. Outgoing Republican Rep. Thomas Massie has said he will force a House vote on impeachment articles against Hegseth in the first week of the lame-duck session. Speaker Mike Johnson had sent the House on an early recess in mid-September to avoid such a vote. CBS sources named Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a possible replacement. Separately, Politico reported Wednesday that Hegseth's wife, Jennifer, a former Fox News producer, was paid for consulting by Watchtower Strategy, whose 2025 clients included Lockheed Martin. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the Hegseths follow all ethics laws. Watchtower said she advised only on conservative TV media and had no contact with clients.

Left-leaning outlets split their focus. The New Republic leads with Hegseth's possible dismissal, citing CBS sources, the exit-poll figure, Massie's impeachment push, Marsha Blackburn's win and DeSantis as a replacement. Raw Story leads with the wife's payments and says critics across the political spectrum are objecting. Right-leaning Daily Caller covers only the wife story. It uses a "swamp" framing, includes the Parnell and Watchtower statements, notes her father is a Lockheed executive and places the story within corruption allegations against the administration from watchdogs and congressional Democrats. It omits the Iran war and the midterm results. Both sides rely on Politico's reporting for the payments, but only the left ties Hegseth's standing to the election and the war. Alternative outlets differ: Reason argues for impeachment over the Iran war and says it could pass with a handful of GOP votes, while Reuters stresses Trump's public support for Hegseth.