Ted Cruz Predicts It's 'Extremely Likely' Pete Hegseth Will Be Impeached — If He Doesn't 'Resign' or Get 'Fired' by Trump First

Sen. Ted Cruz has predicted that Democrats will pursue relentless impeachment proceedings against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after taking control of both chambers of Congress, while also blocking President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominees for the next two years, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

On midterm election day, Cruz, during his appearance on the Polymarket All-In podcast, hosted by Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks and David Friedberg, said, "I believe the House will impeach Donald Trump if they have the House. They may impeach him multiple times. We will see subpoenas. We will see investigations. I think they will go after President Trump. I think they will go after his family. I think they will go after cabinet members. I expect in the lame duck we will see an impeachment of Pete Hegseth."

On his podcast The Verdict on November 9, Cruz said it was "extremely likely, if not certain" that the House would impeach Hegseth unless Trump removes him first.

"Either Hegseth is going to step down, either he will resign voluntarily, or Trump will fire him," he said.

Cruz claimed one reason the House had been out of session for months was that Republicans lacked the votes to stop a Hegseth impeachment in September, an explanation that has not been independently verified.

He identified Rep. Thomas Massie as a leading Republican voice supporting the effort.

Cruz warned that Democrats would halt all judicial confirmations.

"I think (Chuck) Schumer and the Democrats will just halt all judges, which means if we have a Supreme Court vacancy, I think they'll keep the vacancy open for two years. I don't think they care because their base is that radicalized," he said on the election day podcast.

In October, Schumer told NBC News that Democrats wanted to retake the Senate partly "not [to] let Trump put such horrible justices – MAGA justices – on the Supreme Court and the lower courts."

Sen. Richard Blumenthal said the chances of Democrats supporting Trump's next Supreme Court nominee were "slim to none."

As Radar previously reported, Rep. Robert Garcia, expected to chair the House Oversight Committee, said Democrats were preparing investigations into the "Trump crime family" and declared, "The days of us not fighting back are over."

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said officials who shortchanged or stole from Americans must be held accountable consistent with Congress’s constitutional role. Trump called the anticipated probes "extortion at the highest level."

Some Democrats have urged caution. Sen.-elect Adam Hamilton of Kansas said, "I'm not as interested in impeachment as setting up guardrails."

Sen. Bernie Sanders warned, "We cannot spend all of our time investigating Trump. We've got to stand up for working-class families, make a real difference in their lives."

Approximately seven in 10 midterm voters told the AP Voter Poll that Congress was not doing enough to provide checks and balances on the presidency.

Cruz is now Texas’ only remaining statewide Republican officeholder after Democrats flipped every statewide elected position in the midterms.

Speaking on his podcast The Verdict, he admitted, "Texas is blue. That is not something I ever thought I would say."

Rice University fellow Bill King told a publication that Cruz would likely have lost had he been on the ballot, "He's got to be feeling kind of alone right now. Clearly had he been on the ballot last night, he would have lost, given the sea change this was."

Cruz blamed Republican losses on economic pressures and policy decisions, saying tariffs "have made everything too expensive" and that the Iran war "has dragged on too long. It should have been brief, decisive and over. It needs to end."

He described the midterms as an "a-s kicking" and a "Watergate-level repudiation," adding that the best political advice he ever received came from his wife Heidi: "It's not about you. It's about them. It's about their kids, their families, their hopes, their dreams, their futures."

With Democrats taking the Senate, Cruz is expected to lose the chairmanship of the Commerce Committee and serve as ranking member under Sen. Maria Cantwell.

He said he congratulated incoming Democratic Sen. James Talarico and looks forward to working with him "to try to benefit Texas."

Cruz does not face reelection until 2030, leaving open questions about a possible 2028 presidential bid or a focus on rebuilding influence within the Senate.