The Republican losses in the US midterm elections has left President Donald Trump asking advisers around him and making calls to figure out whether Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth should continue working with the administration, according to a report on CBS News.
However, a final decision regarding a potential personnel change has not been reached.
Citing sources, the report stated that Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine may be blamed for the GOP's electoral losses as they played a big role in directing military operations against Iran.
US Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday also linked the Iran war to the electoral setback.
READ | Vance Tries To Distance Himself From Trump After Republicans' Midterm Rout
In a social media post, he wrote, "The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night."
He said that a pollster asked voters what would make them come back to the Republicans and there were four answers.
"End the war, focus on cost of living/inflation, put America first, change our relationship to Israel", Vance noted.
Concluding the post, he said that he remains "hopeful" about the United States and that people who are "pissed" at the results should vote for Republicans who share their worldview.
"To the people who are just pissed at the results, you should be. Let's take that anger and get back to the work of saving our country," he added.
The Democratic wave in Tuesday's midterms has raised major questions over Vance's previous status as the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in the 2028 presidential election.
Per the report, someone close to the talks floated Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as a swap for Hegseth, pointing out that DeSantis could get Senate approval during the lame-duck period right before leaving the governor's mansion on January 5.
However, when a reporter asked Trump on Wednesday whether he would replace Hegseth, the President denied and said that the Defence Secretary was "doing a very good job."
When further questioned regarding whether Hegseth might instead transition to the federal legislature to fill a vacant Senate seat in Tennessee, Trump remarked, "I actually think he'd be very popular if he did that," while clarifying that he "haven't heard that at all."
In an official statement, White House Spokeswoman Anna Kelly asserted that the president "has full confidence in Secretary Hegseth". Kelly further defended the administration's military operations in Iran and Venezuela while commending Hegseth's efforts to dismantle diversity and equity initiatives introduced by the previous administration.
Last month, Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, introduced articles of impeachment against Hegseth and accused him of initiating the Iran conflict without congressional authorisation.
