Pete Hegseth eyeing Senate seat as impeachment threat looms: report

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is reportedly “angling” for a Senate seat over fears House Democrats plan to launch an impeachment investigation into his tenure after the midterms.

According to Puck, the secretary is interested in succeeding Tennessee’s incumbent Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn should she win her race to be the state’s next governor against Democratic rival Jerri Green, as she is currently on course to do.

If Blackburn does secure the keys to the governor’s mansion, Hegseth is reportedly hopeful of her appointing him to her vacant seat, rather than waiting for congressional Democrats to come after him and attempt to force him out of office – or for President Donald Trump to fire him.

The former Fox News presenter lived in the Volunteer State for three years prior to being chosen by Trump to lead the Department of Defense, which might be enough to convince local conservatives of his genuine affinity for the area.

He was also seen attending a University of Tennessee football game between the Volunteers and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville on October 17 in the company of Blackburn and Republican Rep. Tim Burchett.

Burchett is also said to be interested in succeeding the current senator, according to Puck, having spent the summer busily campaigning for her.

Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson told The Independent: “These speculations are nothing more than beltway gossip by anonymous sources.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, Secretary Hegseth’s singular priority is leading the War Department and delivering on the President’s America First agenda.”

Asked about Hegseth’s future last week, chief spokesman Sean Parnell told us: “We are solely focused on peace through strength and ensuring our warfighters have everything they need to be successful. We are proud to serve our warriors.”

Democrats are understood to be looking ahead to the prospect of regaining the majorities in the House of Representatives and perhaps even the Senate in November and weighing how best to hold a wounded Trump administration to account.

Targeting Hegseth over his controversial stewardship of the Pentagon, which has been defined by mass firings and culture war sparring and culminated in a disastrous war with Iran, is one way they might go about attacking the president by proxy.

It was reported last week that the opposition has already been sounding out prospective whistleblowers, who are said to be eager to “spill their guts” on the secretary as part of any future probe into his tenure.

Any investigation is likely to involve the House Oversight Committee, the Judiciary Committee and the Armed Services Committee and could revolve around last year’s “Signalgate” scandal, in which Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to a group chat with senior Cabinet officials in which sensitive information was shared and discussed.

None of that may come to pass, however, if the midterms go as badly as predicted for Republicans because it is also possible that Trump might react to adversity by going on a “rampage” and seeking out a scapegoat, a scenario West Wing insiders have admitted to CNN they fear.

The president could make Hegseth the target of his wrath, blaming a GOP defeat at the polls on the public backlash against his prosecution of the Iran conflict – which has cost American lives and driven up fuel prices – and dismissing him.