US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces threats to open parliamentary investigations and demands for his impeachment, after Democrats won a majority of both houses of Congress in the midterm elections. While President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance hold the war on Iran responsible for Republican losses, the White House clings to Hegseth, one of the most prominent defenders of the war, despite the growing criticism of his performance and the controversy that accompanied his assumption of office.

Published on: 06/11/2026 - 01:53

Pressure is mounting on US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after the Democrats' victory in the midterm congressional elections, amid threats to open investigations into his performance and management of the war on Iran, which President Donald Trump and his deputy, J.D. Vance, held responsible for the Republicans' electoral losses.

Hegseth, a former National Guard officer and former Fox News presenter, faces a new challenge that may threaten his continuation at the head of the Ministry of Defense, after he has overcome a series of scandals and criticism since he took office in early 2025.

Despite the pressure, Trump is still clinging to his minister. When asked if he intends to appoint a replacement, he replied: “He is doing a very good job.”

But the US President and Vice President acknowledged that the war on Iran, of which Hegseth was one of the most prominent supporters and defenders on behalf of the administration, contributed to the defeat of the Republicans. Vance said, "The war is the reason we lost," while Trump considered this explanation "to a large extent correct."

The Democrats' victory with a large majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate this week gave the opposition party the ability to open investigations into the administration's performance, as well as restrict funding allocated to the Ministry of Defense and the war on Iran.

The war had caused widespread turmoil in the global economy, especially after Iran partially closed the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which led to a sharp rise in prices, especially energy prices, and aroused the dissatisfaction of American voters.

"I'm going after Pete Hegseth."

Facing criticism, Hegseth appeared Thursday in a video message from outside the Pentagon, defending his performance and calling the war on Iran a "courageous and historic effort."

“They are attacking me, and they are attacking us, because we are doing our job effectively,” he said. “This will not work, we will not back down.”

A number of Democratic lawmakers vowed to tighten oversight of the Ministry of Defense and investigate the management of the war on Iran.

Democratic Representative Jason Crow, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said: “I will go after Pete Hegseth. He is incompetent and corrupt, and on top of that, he undermines our national security and puts our soldiers at risk.”

For his part, Adam Smith, the committee's top Democrat, stressed that the priority would be "exercising strict oversight over the Department of Defense and the Trump administration," including what he described as "the illegal war on Iran."

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell responded Thursday by affirming that Hegseth “will not back down and will not be deterred by politicians seeking partisan gains or opening sham investigations,” stressing his full commitment to leading the department until the end of Trump’s term.

Demands to hold Hegseth accountable were not limited to Democrats, as Republican Representative Thomas Massie announced his intention to resubmit articles of impeachment against the Minister of Defense in preparation for his removal, when the House of Representatives resumes its sessions next week.

Massie, who is known for his opposition to Trump, said: “There is one case in which I will not re-introduce the articles of impeachment, and that is if Hegseth resigns.”

The Republican representative had tried to launch procedures to remove the Minister of Defense earlier this year, but the House of Representatives adjourned its sessions for recess before voting on his proposal.

Massey warned that what awaits Hegseth after the Democrats take control of Congress will be more severe than the impeachment project he presented, saying: “They will hold hearings and hold trials.”

Frequent scandals

In his video message, Hegseth rejected the accusations against him, and described the articles of impeachment presented by Massey as “false,” considering that they were issued by a “disgruntled and defeated congressman.”

He likened the attempts to isolate him to the impeachment procedures that previously targeted Trump, saying: “It is all about the policy of personal destruction. This policy did not work against President Trump, and it will not work with me.”

The new controversy comes after a series of scandals that accompanied Hegseth's assumption of the Ministry of Defense, the most recent of which was a plan to broadcast a shooting execution carried out by a military squad live, before Trump canceled it.

In the first months of his term, Hegseth faced widespread criticism after The Atlantic magazine revealed that its editor-in-chief was mistakenly added to a conversation on the Signal app, during which the Defense Minister and other officials discussed imminent military strikes in Yemen.

It turned out that Hegseth posted messages in the chat that included the timing of the strikes hours before they occurred.

US military operations targeting boats suspected of being used to smuggle drugs in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean also sparked controversy, especially after survivors of an attack carried out last year were killed in a second strike.

Criticized decisions during Hegseth's term included the dismissal of a number of senior military leaders, including Charles "CQ" Brown, who held the highest military position in the United States, amid the absence of detailed public explanations for many of those dismissals.

Democratic Representative Adam Smith confirmed that the strikes on boats, Trump’s deployment of military forces in American cities, and what he described as “blatant and destructive politicization of our armed forces” will be at the forefront of the files that the new Congress will investigate.

France 24/AFP

Keywords related to the article

The content you want to browse is no longer in service or is currently unavailable.