Pete Hegseth Faces Impeachment Threat as Defense Secretary Comes Under Fire Following GOP Midterm Elections Disaster

Pete Hegseth could face an impeachment vote as early as this week, RadarOnline.com has learned, as the Secretary of Defense continues to face scrutiny after the disastrous Republican showing in the midterm elections.

The fallout from losses in both the House and Senate has already triggered a purge inside President Trump's White House, which saw the firing of Chief of Staff Susie Wiles on Friday.

Hegseth's name immediately came up as a scapegoat for the poor election showing, with many blaming him for pushing Trump's unpopular war in Iran and its fallout at the gas pumps.

"The blame game is already in full swing among House Republicans, with the Iran war emerging as a top target of their ire,” insiders told an outlet, conceding that many lawmakers view Hegseth as "the face of the war."

In preparation for a fight, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) already launched impeachment proceedings against Hegseth last month. On Friday, two senior administration officials revealed that "White House discussions about whether Hegseth should stay have intensified."

Hegseth has been a prominent supporter of the military campaign in Iran and has been accused of telling the president "only what he wants to hear" about the war's progress.

Trump has acknowledged the conflict hurt Republicans politically, particularly because of its impact on fuel prices.

However, he maintained that he would make the same decision again, arguing Iran could not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.

And despite the backlash, Trump has publicly stated he doesn't have any plans to fire Hegseth, telling a reporter recently, "I have every intention to keep him."

However, the 80-year-old did acknowledge many leaders have grown frustrated with Hegseth, 46.

"I get these calls, you know, about him. I don't understand why," Trump said before confessing that it would be "easier" to bring in a new Defense Secretary before Democrats take control of Congress.

For his part, Hegseth vowed to fight efforts to remove him from office, dismissing impeachment proceedings as "political theater."

In a five-minute video rant posted to social media, the Defense Secretary went on the defensive himself, attacking the lawmakers behind the impeachment effort, calling it a "sham" driven by a "disgruntled, defeated congressman" and his Democratic allies.

"Didn't work against President Trump, and it won't work with me," he declared, insisting that he would not back down. He ended the message with an equally defiant promise: "We have only just begun to fight."

As Radar reported, in one of the biggest shakeups of his second term, Trump replaced his longtime Chief of Staff Wiles with Miller late last week.

The announcement came just three days after Republicans suffered their bruising defeat in the midterm elections, and political insiders say more staffing shakeups are likely to come.

On her podcast The Source with Kaitlan Collins, the CNN anchor described an increasingly divided West Wing that has "stunned" many Trump staffers.

"It’s hard to overstate, really, just how fractionized that environment has become in the last several days alone," she said. "Aides that’ve spoken with have described a workplace that is filled with tension and infighting, likening it to the knives-out days of the president's first term.

"Many people believe that Susie Wiles' departure will only accelerate the shift in the balance of power in the president’s inner circle that is underway right now."