Trump: Hegseth would be ‘very popular’ as Tennessee senator

President Trump said Wednesday he is not considering replacing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth but predicted the Pentagon chief would be “very popular” if he filled Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s (R-Tenn.) seat.

“No, I think he’s doing a very good job,” the president said when asked whether he is considering replacing Hegseth following the Republican Party’s poor showing during Tuesday’s midterms, where Democrats took the House, the Senate and multiple governors’ mansions.

CBS News reported Wednesday that Trump has been asking advisers and allies whether Hegseth should stay in the post following the midterms.

Hegseth, a former Army National Guard major, is interested in the open Tennessee Senate seat and has been campaigning behind the scenes for the post, The Hill previously reported .

“I think he’s doing a very good job, and I actually think he’d be very popular if he did that. But I haven’t heard that at all,” Trump said Wednesday when asked whether he would want the Defense secretary to fill Blackburn’s seat.

Some political observers agree Hegseth would be a heavyweight in the race.

“I certainly think Pete Hegseth is going to be the guy that is going to have the most weight in the room. I mean, being the Secretary of War and having done what he’s done, and I’m confident [he would be] getting the endorsement of the president, I would think,” Tennessee GOP operative Monty Lankford previously said, using the administration’s preferred name for the Department of Defense.

Questions are swirling inside the Pentagon over how long Hegseth lasts after the midterms even if he is not impeached, something that House Democrats are eager to pursue once they regain the majority, The Hill reported .

Blackburn beat Democrat Jerri Green on Tuesday night to become Tennessee’s first female governor.

Other Tennessee politicians are interested in the Senate seat, which expires in early 2031. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), who has campaigned for Blackburn, is in the mix, along with former Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs and former CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger.

“I will be honored to have that,” Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), who won his Tennessee’s 3rd Congressional District reelection bid, said in a recent interview with Tennessee Lookout.