Top Republican open to canning Trump’s defense chief

The drum beat to get rid of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has reached the top levels of the House GOP leadership.

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) answered News Nation's questions about next steps in an interview on Friday.

He was asked if he wanted to see someone new lead the Pentagon. "That's gonna be a decision President Trump is going to have to make. But I can tell you, with a high level of confidence, that there's a lot of questions about Hegseth. We have no idea what the strategy is moving forward on Iran. No one is happy about Iran. And I think the Republican voters are more upset about what's happening in Iran than the [Democratic] voters."

He noted that it's all he heard from GOP voters over the past few months of the campaign. People who "have been MAGA for the past 12 years, and MAGA flags in their yard and wore MAGA caps. I mean, they are mad that we are in this situation in Iran. They're mad over gas prices."

He thinks that those MAGA members who are angry at the GOP refused to vote altogether.

"We've got to regain their trust. I think we can do it," Comer said.

The congressman also said that everyone will have new leadership, including the GOP because Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is stepping down. Comer agreed with that decision, even though "he's a good friend of mine."

He said that the new leader will likely be Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) or Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

Comer then took the opportunity to attack "some of the new members on the [Democratic] side." He thinks that there are "a lot on that side that believe socialism is the answer." That's when the host cut him off.

Hegseth has been pitched as a scapegoat option by some, encouraging the president to pin the failure of the Iran war on him and use it as an opportunity to heap blame on someone else who can be removed.

Outgoing Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) are both on board the "fire Hegseth" bandwagon. Meanwhile, many Democrats are looking to impeachment as an option.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), a retired Air Force brigadier general, supports Tillis’s demand to remove Hegseth.

“I hate to tell the president who he should hire and fire … but he would not be on my team,” Bacon said.

Massie already proposed articles of impeachment and when members return next week, they'll be forced to vote on it.