Michigan's incoming Democratic Senator, Abdul El-Sayed, directly challenged Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday, urging him to step down amid growing pressure over his handling of the Iran conflict and other controversies.
In an interview with CNN's Kaitlan Collins, El-Sayed posed a blunt question to Hegseth: "Why are you still doing this job? You are really bad at this." He went further, saying, "Just resign. Make it easy for everybody instead of, in the end, getting taken out because that is clearly what's happening. So, Pete, just take it from me, like, you're not good at this."
El-Sayed, who recently won his Senate race against former Representative Mike Rogers, becomes the first Muslim American elected to the chamber. His victory was part of a broader Democratic wave in the midterms, with the party flipping key battleground states and projected to hold at least 54 Senate seats next Congress.
The call for Hegseth's resignation comes as House Republicans narrowly voted 211-204 to table an impeachment resolution introduced by outgoing Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky. Massie's articles accused Hegseth of abusing his authority, particularly regarding the war in Iran. The move effectively stalls the effort until the next Congress, when Democrats will have more leverage.
Massie, who has been a vocal critic, posted on social media that his resolution was "a much gentler version of what's coming when Dem's control Congress. They'll have hearings & trials." Hegseth dismissed the impeachment attempt, calling Massie "a disgruntled, defeated congressman" and labeling the articles "sham."
President Trump has stood firmly behind Hegseth, giving him an "A+" for his Pentagon performance and deriding Massie as "a TOTAL LOSER." In an interview with CBS News's 60 Minutes that aired Sunday, Trump reaffirmed his confidence in the Defense Secretary.
The political landscape around Hegseth's future remains volatile. Some Democrats have signaled that his tenure could be nearing an end once Democrats take control. Others, like Representative Debbie Dingell, expressed frustration that 11 colleagues skipped the impeachment vote, weakening the immediate push.
Meanwhile, the political fallout extends beyond Washington. El-Sayed's victory in Michigan reflects a shift in U.S. politics on Israel-Palestine, a factor that could influence future defense and foreign policy debates.
As the next Congress approaches, the question of Hegseth's fate remains unresolved. With Democrats set to hold a majority, the pressure on the Defense Secretary is unlikely to subside, and the coming months could bring renewed efforts to remove him from office.
