Could Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth be on the verge of losing his job as head of the U.S. military? It certainly sounds so based on a report from Time that details an angry confrontation between Hegseth and his boss, Donald Trump.
“In late April, the President summoned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and a retinue of military and national security officials to the Oval Office. By Trump’s own timeline, the war with Iran was supposed to be over already, with a new regime in place and a nuclear program throttled. But the Islamic Republic had proved resilient and resourceful, choking off oil through the Strait of Hormuz and sending tremors through the global economy.”
“Now there was another problem. Trump had learned from a New York Times report that the U.S. military was running low on certain munitions after firing more than 1,200 Patriot missile interceptors. To replenish the losses, the Pentagon was drawing on assets stationed in Asia and Europe, potentially weakening American defenses in other theaters. ‘What the f-ck is this?’ Trump said to Hegseth, according to two officials familiar with the exchange, handing him a printout of the story.”
Hegesth assured Trump the Times story was “fake news,” but the exchange between the two suggests Hegesth may be on the way out, especially if the midterm elections wind up delivering the House and Senate to Democrats, which would trigger congressional hearings on the Iran conflict and potentially result in the president being impeached for the third time and even removed from office if enough moderate Republicans were to vote for his removal.
Just this week, Hegseth announced he was creating a Pentagon Office of Religious Affairs that would report directly to him, suggesting that the defense chief is trying to curry favor with conservatives in the GOP and protect his post as he senses that his days as defense chief may be numbered.
However, with the Iran war continuing to be a drag on Trump and his Republican allies, it may be necessary to cut Hegseth loose, if only in an attempt to change the narrative and reassure GOP voters who might be considering not casting a ballot in November.
Earlier this week, Hegseth announced the U.S. would begin building a new military base.
But all the military bases in the world won’t solve the Iran problem Trump and Hegseth have caused with their foolhardy war. And rather than admit he’s to blame, don’t be surprised when Trump starts blaming others and tossing them overboard.
