Pete Hegseth under fire as Republicans trade blame for midterm debacle

Iran war hawk Pete Hegseth is facing the fallout from Republicans' midterms losses as high energy prices turned voters toward Democrats. US President Trump continues to support his embattled defense chief — for now.

Republicans in Washington continued to assess the damage on Thursday, after a resounding electoral defeat in the midterm elections two days prior saw Democrats take over Congress by large margins . Republican Party insiders told US outlets CNN and The Washington Post that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is feeling the heat over criticism that the war in Iran , which he supports, cost his party the elections.

Trump on Wednesday acknowledged that the Iran war affected the midterms , saying that voters were frustrated how the 8-month-long conflict has cause gas and diesel prices to skyrocket. "The ⁠reason ⁠we lost is the war," Vance said on X.