Kaitlan Collins pulls back curtain on chaotic push to save Trump official

CNN's Kaitlan Collins has shared intel on the White House scramble to back the embattled Pete Hegseth. The secretary of defense was the target of an impeachment push by lame-duck Republican Thomas Massie, who officially reintroduced his effort in the House on Monday.

But on Tuesday evening, the House voted 211-204 to send the articles of impeachment against Hegseth to committee, blocking an immediate impeachment vote. Hegseth likely dodged a bullet, as 11 Democrats didn't vote and the only Republican to vote with them was Massie.

In Tuesday's episode of The Source, Collins provided insider details about the White House chaos behind the scenes ahead of the impeachment vote.

"It certainly wasn't the outcome the White House was expecting tonight," she said, noting that Republicans in the House had "banded together and defeated that effort by one of their own."

"Sources say that both Republican leadership and White House officials were working furiously behind the scenes today to ensure that Congressman Thomas Massie's attempt to rebuke and potentially oust Secretary Pete Hegseth from the President's Cabinet wasn't successful," Collins added.

Her intel lines up with a report in The New York Times which said that Republican leadership was concerned that "attendance issues" among Republicans would "doom their chances to save Hegseth." However, the Pentagon chief was ultimately saved by absent Democrats.

President Donald Trump voiced his support for Hegseth on Truth Social and mocked the unsuccessful impeachment attempt, writing: "The Democrats' attempt to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has miserably FAILED! Every single Republican, except Thomas Massie, a major LOSER, voted in favor of Pete. Again, Victories in Venezuela and Iran, the Best Recruitment Numbers in the History of the Military (Long waiting lists to get in!), and Spirit like rarely seen before, led to the EXONERATION of a Great American Patriot. The Democrats continue to weaponize and abuse the United States of America. They must be stopped! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN."

Collins noted the president’s failure to mention the unexpected help the Democrats had provided him.

"It was actually the absence of these 11 Democrats, including Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, who might have helped save Secretary Hegseth from facing that vote on impeachment. Even if they did so unintentionally by just not showing up," Collins noted.

She also claimed sources in the White House said that the new chief of staff, Stephen Miller, now in his second day on the job, reassured Hegseth "that they have his back" in the face of an impeachment attempt on Tuesday. Collins said Miller, the architect of the White House immigration agenda, is "personally close" to Hegseth.

Noting that President Trump has been in support of Hegseth this week, both on social media and in comments to the media, Collins said: "he does have a history of saying that only until he doesn't." This was the case with Susie Wiles, who was abruptly fired after the president publicly backed her.

Democrats could revive the impeachment effort when they take control in January, with more members to ensure it reaches the Senate floor.

Democrat Hakeem Jeffries said after the decision on Tuesday, "This is not the end of it. It's just the beginning."

Collins also reflected on Hegseth’s first major press conference at the Pentagon on Tuesday since May.

"It was almost solely focused on this effort to potentially impeach him, and his reasoning of why it shouldn't happen," Collins said. "I should note he only took questions from a prepared list of what appeared to be only conservative media outlets."