House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) declined to back Secretary of War Pete Hegseth as an impeachment vote against the secretary looms, saying there are “a lot of questions” about him.
The House must vote next week on impeachment articles filed by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) prior to the midterm elections. Frustrations over high prices due to the prolonged war in Iran led to staggering Republican losses in Tuesday’s elections, putting increased attention on Hegseth and his role in the conflict.
Comer, a staunch Trump ally, sidestepped on whether he would like to see a new war secretary when asked during an appearance on NewsNation.
“Well, that’s going to be a decision that President Trump’s going to have to make,” said Comer.
“But I can tell you with a high level of confidence that … there’s a lot of questions about Hegseth. We have no idea what the strategy is moving forward in Iran. No one’s happy about Iran, and I think the Republican voters are more upset about what’s going on in Iran than the Democrat voters,” Comer added.
Comer’s thinly veiled criticism comes as he positions himself for a potential run for Kentucky governor, where he is likely the odds-on favorite. Anger over the war in Iran and its effect on gas prices triggered unexpected results in Kentucky and other heavily agricultural areas on Tuesday, including a stunning loss in a Kentucky congressional district Trump carried by roughly 15 points in 2024.
Despite renewed scrutiny of Hegseth following the Democratic sweep in the elections, in his first post-midterm interview, Trump told 60 Minutes that he had full confidence in Hegseth, waving off speculation that he could be on the chopping block.
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“Look, we’ve won two wars. We’ve won Venezuela and have taken out billions and billions and billions of dollars already, and we will be taking out many billions of dollars and get along very well. And you could call it a territory, you could call it whatever you want. We won that war in less than one hour,” he said.
When asked if he credited Hegseth with the Venezuela victory, Trump said he didn’t, but that the secretary of war did play a role in the military campaign.