Dems float Hegseth’s ouster in lame-duck defense battle

Dems float Hegseth’s ouster in lame-duck defense battle

Senate Democrats are quietly floating the ouster of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after the midterms as t he political price for cooperation on key defense-related issues in the postelection lame-duck session.

© Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Associated Press

The Defense Department has set recruiting records under Hegseth’s leadership, and the Pentagon chief appears to have strong support from President Trump, who likes to brag that Hegseth looks like a military leader from “central casting.”

But the Democrats may have some GOP support to shake up the Pentagon’s leadership, according to Senate sources.

Some Republican senators haven’t been happy with Hegseth’s leadership , especially his ouster of well-respected military leaders such as Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, Army chief of staff Randy George, Navy Secretary John Phelan and four-star Gen. Chris Donahue, the top U.S. military officer in Europe.

Democrats view Hegseth’s leadership as a disaster and are looking for leverage to push him out after the midterm elections, according to Senate sources, just as they attempted to push former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem out of her job during the prolonged stalemate over funding for her department earlier this year.

Trump eventually fired Noem after key Republican senators, such as Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), turned against her publicly .

Now Democrats have significant leverage over Hegseth’s future at the Pentagon as they’re threatening to hold up emergency defense funding the White House requested in June as well as regular funding for the Defense Department, which expires on Dec. 11.

My colleague Alexander Bolton spoke with his Democratic and Republican sources on Capitol Hill, where there are growing questions about whether Trump and Hegseth are fully in sync on several important issues.

Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I’m Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.

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