While President Donald Trump this week indicated he’s standing by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the wake of brutal midterm election losses, Democratic Party leaders have indicated they’ll use their new majorities in Congress to remove him from office, one way or another.

The Intercept reported on Thursday that source in the US Department of Defense, as well as on Capitol Hill, believe Hegseth’s days are numbered due to a number of factors, including an “endless raft of scandals, culture-war clownishness, and senseless policies.”

Wes J. Bryant, a senior targeting adviser and policy analyst at the Pentagon who was pushed out of his job last year, told The Intercept that Hegseth’s extrajudicial killings of people in the Caribbean and Pacific constitute war crimes.

“He is conducting state terrorism,” said Bryant. “He is 100% a war criminal. He needs to be prosecuted.”

A senior congressional staffer told The Intercept that a resolution to impeach Hegseth being offered in the US House of Representatives by outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) could gain significant bipartisan support if the defense secretary refuses to step down.

“There are very angry senior Republicans in the national security space who honestly pin a lot of their election losses on [Hegseth]," the staffer said. “They are furious… So they’re asking themselves, ‘What is even the harm in voting to impeach Hegseth?'”

In a Thursday social media post, Massie advised Trump that forcing Hegseth to leave right now is the best option he has.

“If Trump’s going to replace appointees like Hegseth, he should do it while he can still get the replacements confirmed in the Senate,” Massie wrote. “Also, my Hegseth impeachment resolution is a much gentler version of what’s coming when Dems control Congress. They’ll have hearings and trials.”

Hegseth, however, remained defiant in the face of the impeachment threat and posted a video on social media where he vowed to remain at the Pentagon.

“A disgruntled, defeated Congressman, along with all his Democrat allies, has also dropped sham articles of impeachment against yours truly—just like they tried against President Trump twice,” Hegseth said. “It didn’t work against President Trump, and it won’t work with me.”

At the War Department: We Stand.We Fight. We Defend the Republic. https://t.co/Kkr0DazmCE
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) November 5, 2026

Richard Ojeda, a retired US army major who on Tuesday won an election as the Democratic Party’s nominee in North Carolina’s 9th congressional district, was less than impressed by Hegseth’s bravado.

“Trump took five deferments to keep from serving in Vietnam so you can shove that tough guy talk up your ass,” Ojeda wrote in response to Hegseth. “You are a war criminal. Tick tock.”

Former Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) was similarly dismissive of Hegseth’s video and urged Congress to “impeach and remove Hegseth” then “prosecute him for war crimes.”

Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) predicted that Hegseth would soon be out of a job, whether he knows it or not.

“After failing our servicemembers and starting new forever wars, Pete’s desperate to keep his job,” wrote Crow. “Tick tock, Mr. Secretary. Better start packing up your make-up room at the Pentagon. Time’s up.”

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