Once upon a time, being involved in the number of scandals Pete Hegseth has been a part of during his six months as defense secretary would have resulted in a swift firing or a resignation, accompanied by a statement about deep regrets. Of course, in 2025, things are a little different; a person can now not only survive more than one (!) incident involving classified military plans being texted to civilians, but also apparently take stock of the situation and think, I’m doing a great job here, and the American people want more of me.
NBC News reports that Hegseth, according to two people who have directly talked about the matter with him, has “privately discussed the idea of running for political office next year in Tennessee.” One of those people told the outlet that their conversation with the Fox News host turned Cabinet secretary occurred in the last three weeks and that it was “serious, not simply spitballing ideas.” (Presumably, spitballing conversations with Hegseth are reserved for matters like “Should I make a TikTok about bombing Yemen?”) The other individual, who reportedly also characterized their conversation as serious, would not say exactly when they had spoken to the secretary, only sharing that it was after he was installed at the Department of Defense.
According to NBC, the discussions were focused on the specifics of running, including eligibility requirements for a Tennessee gubernatorial run and Hegseth’s shot at winning. Both people said Hegseth had mentioned a potential campaign for the Tennessee governorship. The two sources came away from their conversations unsure if the defense secretary would actually go for it. In a statement, a spokesperson for the Pentagon told NBC, “Fake news NBC is so desperate for attention, they are shopping around a made-up story…again. Only two options exist: either the ‘sources’ are imaginary or these reporters are getting punked. Secretary Hegseth’s focus remains solely on serving under President Trump and advancing the America First mission at the Department of Defense.”
Speaking to Politico, allies of Hegseth recently voiced worries that a “laundry list of scandals could lead to his downfall,” with one person describing his leadership as “the crème de la crème of dysfunction.” Adding to a list of reported controversies that includes not one, but two “Signalgate” scandals, The Washington Post recently wrote that the White House had to order Hegseth to stop subjecting Defense Department staffers to lie-detector tests. (In a statement, a Pentagon spokesperson told the Post: “The department will not comment on an ongoing investigation. The Fake News Media’s obsession with months-old workplace gossip is a reflection of the sad and pathetic state of ‘journalism’ in Washington.”) Yet Hegseth reportedly remains in Trump’s good graces; as one Trump ally put it to Politico: “The boss loves him—so it’s like, ‘We’ll make it work.’”
Tennessee Republican Party chairman Scott Golden told NBC that he had not discussed a potential Hegseth run with Trump, saying, “Nobody has called to talk about this as a reality. I don’t know where it’s coming from, and maybe it will be real.”
