Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed, a Democrat, called on Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to step down Tuesday, telling CNN’s Kaitlan Collins he could not understand why Hegseth was still in his job.
“Can you imagine being Pete Hegseth right now? Like, why are you still in your job? I mean it’s an open question, like, ‘Pete, like really, just open question, why are you still doing this job? You are really bad at this. You are failing your responsibility, you have mishandled this war and nobody really actually understands what it is you’re about,'” El-Sayed said.
El-Sayed said Hegseth seemed more focused on fighting daily culture-war battles than on what El-Sayed called “an actual war that is actually illegal on its own terms.”
“So, just resign. Make it easy for everybody instead of, in the end, getting taken out because that is clearly what’s happening. So, Pete, just take it from me. Like, you’re not good at this.”
The comments came the same day House Republicans blocked a push to impeach Hegseth led by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. Lawmakers voted 211-204 to send the resolution to the House Judiciary Committee rather than hold a floor vote on impeachment. Every Democrat who voted opposed that move, but 11 Democrats were absent, a fact that helped seal the resolution’s fate.
President Donald Trump praised the outcome on Truth Social, calling Massie a “total loser” and crediting Hegseth with strong recruitment numbers and military operations in Venezuela and Iran.
When Collins asked El-Sayed what he would say to the 11 Democrats who skipped the vote, he said lawmakers needed to show up and “do your job.” Collins called the absences “surprising” given they contributed to the impeachment effort’s failure.
El-Sayed ties Hegseth to affordability concerns
El-Sayed, who takes office representing Michigan, said voters on the campaign trail repeatedly raised concerns about high gas and grocery prices, which he linked to the war in Iran.
“Pete Hegseth has aided and abetted a president who we all know is way out of his league. And, so, you know, I think it is important for us to be recognizing that Pete Hegseth himself is the tie to the affordability that all of us crave when it comes to this administration.”
He added that while he would not have a vote on any impeachment, he would judge any such effort on its own merits. “It’s really quite clear that Pete Hegseth is failing his responsibilities as secretary of defense,” he said.
The White House and the Department of War did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital, which first reported the exchange.
Hegseth pushes back
Hegseth remained defiant at a news conference Tuesday, defending military operations in Iran, Venezuela and Yemen as lawful.
“What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight. It’s not accountability. It’s a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment. Time for one man’s final days in Congress to try to do damage to this president, this country and, most irresponsibly, the warriors who defend it.”
Government strategies attorney Y. David Scharf said the episode could backfire on Democrats. “Democrats could spend the next two years trying to impeach Pete Hegseth and end up making him stronger,” Scharf said. “Congress may have every right to investigate, demand documents and subpoena witnesses. But there’s a world of difference between holding an administration accountable and trying to remove someone simply because you don’t like his policies.”
Scharf added that calling for a resignation is far easier than achieving one. “Actually removing him requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate,” he said. “And if Democrats can’t even get their own members to show up for a vote, how do they expect to convince Republicans to join them?”
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