Trump gearing up to fire top Cabinet official: retired naval officer

President Donald Trump could fire Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after the midterm elections, as a new analysis points to mounting political pressure around the defense secretary and the Pentagon as Republicans enter the final stretch before Election Day.

Theodore R. Johnson, who is a contributing columnist for the Washington Post and a retired naval officer, argued that Hegseth could be made a convenient target if the Republicans suffer heavy losses in November. He pointed out that it has happened in the past for presidents to reorganize their Cabinets following poor performance in the mid-term elections, citing George W. Bush's decision to remove Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld after the Democrats gained control of Congress in 2006.

In his first term, Trump made a similar move to Bush after the Democrats had taken control of the House following the 2018 mid-term elections when he forced Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign.

Johnson stated the reasons he believes Hegseth now seems to be a possible fall guy for another round of staffing changes following the election. He cited the resignations of senior military and civil officials in protest of working with him, criticism from lawmakers, and impeachment attempts on from lawmakers on both parties on Capitol Hill.

On September 15, Republican Representative Thomas Massie from Kentucky presented eight articles of impeachment concerning Hegseth, alleging that the defense secretary had engaged in misconduct related in part to the administration's war with Iran. A poll carried out by Economist/YouGov from September 18 to 21 showed that 51 percent of registered voters backed the impeachment of Hegseth on the ground that the poll had claimed he had helped initiate the war without having obtained congressional authorization, while 34 percent opposed it.

The column in The Washington Post stated that there are no public signs showing that Trump has made up his mind to remove Hegseth. Johnson said that Hegseth still seems to have the president's support, but maintained that a weak performance by the Republicans in the midterms could provide the White House with a reason to carry out a high-profile personnel change.

At the same time, Hegseth is still pushing forward with major reforms at the Pentagon. According to a report by Reuters this week, he intends to reduce the number of general and admiral positions by about 20 percent, which is double the previous target for cuts. The Pentagon states that the aim of these changes is to simplify the military's leadership structure. Hegseth has also prevented new civilian faculty members at the military academies from being given tenure.

He argued that even if Trump in the end gets rid of Hegseth, the Pentagon would still have to deal with serious issues concerning military readiness, leadership turnover and the relationship between civil and military authorities.

The columnist drew a comparison between the potential dismissal of Hegseth and the way that Trump dealt with former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was fired after numerous controversies and moved to a different role.

Whether Hegseth ultimately becomes a casualty of a post-election shake-up may depend less on his string of controversies and more on how Trump assesses the political cost of keeping him. The defense secretary remains aligned with the president’s agenda, but Johnson’s analysis suggests that loyalty may not guarantee longevity if Republicans emerge from the midterms defeated and looking for big changes.