PETERING OUT

Pentagon Pete Wakes Up to a Nightmare After Election Disaster

Trump is privately questioning his defense chief’s performance as furious allies seek someone to blame for the election rout.

Donald Trump’s devastating election defeat has left Pete Hegseth facing a major backlash over the Iran war—and staring down the barrel of his time as defense secretary.

Hegseth, 46, has emerged as a potential scapegoat after Democrats swept to victory in Tuesday’s midterms, seizing control of both chambers of Congress in a crushing blow for the GOP.

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Trump administration officials and loyalists have begun blaming the president’s decision to attack Iran for the Republican catastrophe, according to CNN, with Hegseth likely to face the consequences.

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Some believe Hegseth, a prominent driver of the ongoing eight-month conflict, could be sacrificed as the president searches for someone to blame. Trump has already been privately canvassing allies for their assessments of Hegseth’s performance, the outlet reported.

White House insiders are said to believe Hegseth has been overly optimistic about the conflict, which began in February and has triggered soaring energy prices and mounting anger across the U.S.

An earlier report by The Atlantic claimed Trump was also questioning the judgment of Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, over the botched military campaign.

Trump, 80, has even acknowledged that the war contributed to the Republican defeat: “Iran was a piece of it,” he told The Wall Street Journal Tuesday night.

However, in the same interview, the president defended his decision to launch the conflict and publicly backed Hegseth: “I think he’s terrific actually,” he declared.

Aside from Iran, the former Fox News host’s turbulent Pentagon tenure has been dogged by controversy.

Early on, Hegseth was at the heart of a national security scandal after he shared sensitive military strike information in a Signal group chat that inadvertently included an Atlantic journalist.

He then faced accusations of involvement in an allegedly unlawful operation after the American military killed two survivors of a strike on a suspected drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean in September 2025.

The attack prompted accusations of war crimes, although Hegseth denied reports that he had instructed troops to kill everyone aboard.

His purge of senior military officers, including the October dismissal of Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, has also increased tensions among Pentagon officials.

Democrats—now armed with the power of subpoena—are also reported to be preparing investigations into everything that Hegseth has overseen.

Hegseth, though, insists he will not go without a fight, according to reports. People close to him told The Washington Post that he plans to stay in his role for the remainder of Trump’s presidency, while Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell rejected suggestions that Hegseth will retreat in the face of congressional investigations.

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But even senior Republicans are openly warning that Hegseth’s future is in jeopardy. “Pete Hegseth has a reckoning,” Sen. Thom Tillis, 66, told CBS News on Election Night.

The Daily Beast has contacted the Pentagon and the White House for comment.

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