The next US Congress IS gonna feature DEMOCRATS…..
(A growing number of Republicans ain’t happy with the guy either)
They are NOT gonna stand for some of the things Hegseth IS DOING…..
We’ll see how long Hegseth is gonna last against this?
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has survived in office by projecting an image of strength.
His combative style has won praise from President Trump and support from the Republican base. “He loves war,” Mr. Trump said earlier this year, slapping Mr. Hegseth on the biceps.
By many measures, though, Mr. Hegseth has never been weaker. He is leading the military through an unpopular war. Republicans in Congress complain privately — and increasingly in public — that he and his staff are dismissive of their questions and frequently unprepared for briefings.
If Democrats win a majority in the House, Mr. Hegseth will likely face new calls for his impeachment.
Mr. Hegseth’s firing and sidelining of senior military officers, often with no explanation, has fed mistrust and led many in the top ranks to question his leadership.
How Mr. Hegseth manages the contradiction between his tough guy image and his growing vulnerabilities in Washington and around the world could determine whether Mr. Trump — the person Mr. Hegseth must ultimately please — keeps him in the job.
Mr. Hegseth’s most immediate problems are in Iran, where the U.S. war shows no signs of ending, and on Capitol Hill. In the aftermath of the midterm elections, Mr. Hegseth will have to persuade a skeptical Congress to pass a $1.5 trillion defense budget and confirm nominees for key Pentagon posts. Several of his choices are being blocked by Republicans in the Senate.
He will also have to convince Congress to keep paying for the war, which the American people broadly oppose…..
…
Mr. Hegseth’s clashes with lawmakers extend beyond the firings. Republicans in Congress have complained that he and his staff have misled or lied to them about recent decisions to pull Army brigades out of Poland and Romania.
“We didn’t think we were treated honestly,” Mr. Bacon said.
And lawmakers from both parties have said that they cannot get answers to basic questions about the conduct of the war in Iran, or about the Pentagon’s budget requests.
“You want to sell people on your needs,” said Senator Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina and a key vote in confirming Mr. Hegseth as defense secretary. “You want to sell people on your priorities. Then you have to engage.”…
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“He’s not working with Democratic senators,” said Senator Joni Ernst, Republican of Iowa. “He works very little with Republican senators.”
Ms. Ernst added: “we need more transparency for the good of the Defense Department and the good of the nation.”
The result is that many of Mr. Hegseth’s top priorities in Congress are going nowhere. Earlier this year, Mr. Hegseth fired or forced out the Army chief of staff, the Army secretary and the Navy secretary. Senators are refusing to confirm the leaders Mr. Hegseth has chosen as replacements.
The defense secretary also has struggled to convince lawmakers in the House and Senate to pay for any of the Pentagon’s spending bills. In the near term, the Pentagon will have to make do with last year’s budget of about $890 billion, or about 40 percent less than it is currently budgeting…..
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At some point Mr. Trump may have to make a choice.
“Trump really likes Hegseth, and I think that’s based on style,” said Todd Harrison, a senior fellow focusing on defense at the American Enterprise Institute.
Mr. Trump chose Mr. Hegseth in part for his bravado, which was on full display on Wednesday. The question now is whether pressure from Republican lawmakers will force the president to find a leader for the Pentagon who is less politically combative and more eager to make peace with a frustrated Congress….
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