House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) acknowledged Friday that Republicans are increasingly uneasy about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, with an impeachment push from a fellow Kentuckian set to hit the House floor next week.
“Well, that’s going to be a decision that President Trump’s going to have to make,” Comer told NewsNation when asked whether he wants a new Pentagon chief. “But I can tell you with a high level of confidence that there’s a lot of questions about Hegseth. We have no idea what the strategy is moving forward in Iran. No one’s happy about Iran, and I think the Republican voters are more upset about what’s going on in Iran than the Democrat voters.”
Comer’s remarks come as The Hill reported that President Trump has been privately asking allies about Hegseth’s standing, with one source saying the Pentagon chief is in “a lot of trouble.” Publicly, Trump has backed Hegseth, insisting he is “doing a very good job” and that no replacement is under consideration.
A senior Pentagon official told The Hill on Thursday that replacing Hegseth is not “practical,” citing the difficulty of getting a new nominee confirmed by the Senate during the lame-duck session, especially before Democrats take control of the House following the midterm blue-wave tsunami. The official added, “He is not terribly worried about being replaced.”
But Hegseth faces a direct challenge from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who has said he will reintroduce articles of impeachment against the defense secretary. Hegseth dismissed the effort as political theater from a “disgruntled, defeated congressman.”
“Just like they tried against President Trump twice. You see, their policies don’t work, so their obsession with political theater disguised as power drives them to try to destroy their opponents. It’s all about the politics of personal destruction,” Hegseth said in a video Thursday. “Didn’t work against President Trump, and it won’t work with me. You can rest assured of that.”
Massie, a vocal critic of the Iran war, has said he would drop the impeachment resolution if Hegseth resigns. The measure is expected to draw significant support from Democrats and some Republicans, adding to the pressure on the Pentagon chief.
Comer also highlighted broader Republican voter frustration over the prolonged Iran conflict and rising gas prices, warning that many disaffected conservatives stayed home in the midterms rather than voting for Democrats. “They are mad that we’re in this situation in Iran. They’re mad over gas prices, and a lot of them stayed home. I do not think, at least in Kentucky, I don’t think that these upset MAGA people voted Democrat. They just didn’t vote. So we’ve got to regain their trust. I think we can do it.”
The uncertainty around Hegseth’s future comes as his standing has been questioned in the wake of the GOP’s midterm losses. Meanwhile, House Republicans are bracing for a Democratic oversight blitz once they lose the majority, and Democrats have floated impeachment of other Trump officials, signaling a contentious lame-duck session.
