Pete Hegseth eyeing Senate seat as impeachment threat looms: report

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is said to be looking for a way into the U.S. Senate, hoping to escape the political danger he could face once the midterm elections are over. Puck reports that he wants Tennessee Republican Marsha Blackburn, who is favored to beat Democrat Jerri Green for governor, to name him to the seat she would leave behind. The alternative, as Puck frames it, is waiting for House Democrats to open impeachment proceedings or for President Donald Trump to dismiss him, according to The Independent.

Hegseth spent three years living in Tennessee before joining the administration, and he appeared with Blackburn and Republican Rep. Tim Burchett at a University of Tennessee game against Alabama on October 17. Burchett, who campaigned for Blackburn over the summer, is also reportedly eyeing the seat. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, asked last week about Hegseth's future, said the department is concentrating on "peace through strength."

Democrats are reportedly contacting potential whistleblowers and could involve the Oversight, Judiciary and Armed Services Committees, possibly examining the Signalgate episode with Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg. CNN has reported that White House insiders worry a bad election night could push Trump to hunt for a scapegoat, perhaps Hegseth, over the Iran war.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →