Alarmed by the crushing defeat in the midterms, many Republican lawmakers are reportedly moving to pin the blame on US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
A report by CNN says that many GOP members argue that Hegseth played a big role in convincing President Donald Trump to launch strikes against Iran without having a plan to manage the fallout.
The report added that House republicans are expected to vote to repudiate the Pentagon chief in days, with Republican lawmaker Thomas Massie saying he will propose a vote to impeach Hegseth next week.
On X, Massie said that Hegseth resigning is the only contingency in which he won't introduce articles of impeachment.
Hegseth oversold the idea that the US could finish the war, which quickly became extremely unpopular among Americans.
The war in Iran has cost the US over $47 billion and worsened the cost of living and affordability crises, which drove many voters away from the GOP on November 3.
Even Trump and Vice President JD Vance blamed the war for the midterm loss, though the president argued he did the right thing.
Several Republicans accused Hegseth of pushing for further military escalation despite little indication that continued strikes would force Iran to surrender, CNN reported. A former senior Pentagon official told the network that "the pivot is starting" against the defence secretary.
Blame game
Earlier in the day, Trump defended Hegseth, arguing that he was "doing a very good job".
Trump has regularly praised Hegseth publicly and has given the former Army National Guard soldier significant leeway as he sought to reshape the Pentagon.
Chief Pentagon spokesperghhh Sean Parnell was quoted as saying that Hegseth "will not back down or be deterred by politicians seeking to score partisan points."
"Secretary Hegseth is 100 percent committed to leading the Department until the end of President Trump's term in office," Parnell added.
However, CBS News cited sources saying Trump asked advisers whether Hegseth should stay on the job.
Reuters also cited a Trump adviser as saying that Hegseth "could be on the chopping block" because of the war.
"Someone is going to get blamed for this, and you know it's not going to be him (Trump)," the adviser said.
