Pete Hegseth's future in doubt as top Republican raises 'questions' about his leadership... and Senate escape route is slammed shut

Embattled Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is drawing questions from his typically devoted Republican allies over Iran, and his escape plan in case he gets fired just got more complicated.

As President Trump considers a Cabinet shake-up in the wake of the blue wave, Hegseth has been floated as a potential scalp. 

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, told NewsNation on Friday morning, 'There's a lot of questions about Hegseth.'

Ultimately, whether the secretary of war keeps his job is President Donald Trump's decision, Comer explained, but as impeachment efforts targeting Hegseth are expected as soon as next week, his GOP lawmaker allies are skeptical.

'We have no idea what the strategy is moving forward in Iran,' the pro-Trump lawmaker said. 'No one's happy about Iran, and I think the Republican voters are more upset about what's going on in Iran than the Democratic voters.' 

Two sources close to Hegseth told the Daily Mail he would make a good candidate for Senator Marsha Blackburn's soon-to-be vacant Senate seat in Tennessee, where he's lived since 2022.  

But there is a devout belief in his camp that he will ride out the storm and remain as Pentagon boss, according to those sources.

Hegseth plans on 'staying until the end of the president's term,' a Pentagon official told the Daily Mail.  

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth was rumored to be in consideration to be named to a US Senate seat in Tennessee, a cushy landing spot amid speculation he could be ousted by Trump over his handling of the Iran war and Tuesday's election drubbing

Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn, the state's new governor-elect, is expected to be able to chose her own successor in the Senate after being sworn in as governor 

Trump has said that he believes Hegseth would make for a good Tennessee governor 

The source pointed to a defiant new video the secretary posted on social media this week where he tells the audience he isn't going anywhere. 

Meanwhile, Blackburn's camp claims that she is focused on her newfound duties as governor-elect, not considering Hegseth for the Senate job. 

The Blackburn transition team has been fielding calls from elected officials voicing opposition to a Hegseth appointment, according to one transition source who noted the 'big backlash.' 

Hegseth 'is not being considered,' the source shared, calling the reporting that he is  'spin.' 

Blackburn's Senate and transition teams did not answer whether she has spoken to Hegseth about the potential nomination or had any meetings with the secretary on the topic.

If Hegseth doesn't have the cushy Senate seat to parachute into, it would remain an open question where he would land if Trump ousted him. 

But Trump defended his Pentagon boss, saying 'he's doing a very good job' this week and 'he'd be very popular' if he were made Tennessee senator. 

'But I haven't heard that at all,' the president added, throwing cold water on the conversation. 

Sources have told the Daily Mail that Blackburn is considering naming either Congressman Tim Burchett or Knoxville Mayor Glenn Jacobs to the Senate seat early next year

Blackburn speaks to former Knox County Mayor and former professional wrestler Glenn Jacobs, right, at a campaign rally Tuesday, October 27, 2026, in Hendersonville

Hegseth attended a University of Tennesee football game in October with Burchett, shown over his shoulder

The 46-year-old Secretary of War has earned many enemies around the Capitol, too, even among GOP members.  

Outgoing North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican who retired when Trump tried to oust him, resulting in the seat flipping blue on Tuesday, unleashed a fierce salvo against the secretary for 'wasting taxpayer dollars on campaign style videos.'

'This is about you: The incompetence you’ve displayed, the bad advice you’ve given to president, and your shameful and embarrassing episodes from firing our top generals to texting war plans to reporters,' Tillis ripped Hegseth in a social media post.

Tillis criticized a video Hegseth published this week as a wasteful ad. He issued a veiled warning: 'Kristi Noem learned that the hard way.'

Hegseth is expected to be the target of a Republican-led impeachment effort that could get kicked off as soon as Congress returns from recess next week. 

Trump rival Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky threatened to bring the articles unless Hegseth resigns. 

Reports indicate that there are some GOP lawmakers ready to back it after the Democrats' decisive win, forcing many of the remaining Republicans in the House out of their jobs. has 

Pentagon Chief spokesman Sean Parnell convened a meeting with Department of War (DOW) political appointees on Wednesday to discuss an 'aggressive defense of Secretary Hegseth and the President's agenda,' in the wake of the threat, a DOW source told the Daily Mail.