皮特·赫格斯的问题愈发难以忽视

Pete Hegseth’s problems are getting harder to ignore

2026-09-03T17:16:47.289Z / CNN

When GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell voted against Pete Hegseth for defense secretary last year, he bypassed the big-ticket controversies over Hegseth’s personal life and instead focused on his lack of experience.

The former Republican Senate leader cast the job leading the Pentagon as a “daily test with staggering consequences for the security of the American people and our global interests.” He said Hegseth had “failed, as yet, to demonstrate that he will pass this test.”

Those words loom increasingly large over Hegseth’s rocky tenure. A growing series of controversies have tested Republicans’ willingness to stand by him and may leave them wondering what’s next.

And it increasingly seems that Hegseth could be a political problem for the Trump administration, too.

The big news recently was another shakeup in the Pentagon — this time the resignation of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, which focused attention on Hegseth’s leadership and culture war fixation. That even led a couple of prominent retiring Republicans to call for Hegseth’s job.

Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who was a crucial vote to confirm the defense secretary last year, said he had “never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country.” He also said Hegseth was “intimidated by competence.”

Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska agreed with Tillis, saying in an interview on CNN’s “AC360” on Wednesday night that Hegseth had “not been a very good leader in many ways.”

Other Republicans didn’t call for Hegseth’s exit but did raise concerns about what’s happening at the Pentagon.

House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers said he was “tired of all the churn” at the Defense Department and added, “I want to see some stability over there.”

And House Defense Appropriations Chairman Ken Calvert bemoaned “a number of disruptions in the department” and suggested they need to stop.

While the GOP backlash over Driscoll’s departure has yet to expand, it’s merely the latest example of Republicans raising concerns about Hegseth.

And those concerns have often come from high places, including chairmen of both the Senate and House Armed Services Committees and other committees, the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and several senators who voted to confirm Hegseth:

• Just weeks into Hegseth’s tenure, Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker decried Hegseth’s comments about concessions Ukraine would have to make as a “rookie mistake.” Hegseth backed off the comments.
• Wicker has also said it was inappropriate for Hegseth to try and discipline Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona for participating in a video telling service members to disobey illegal orders.
• Ex-House Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner has questioned the administration’s boat strikes killing alleged drug traffickers without due process and raised concerns about the information the Pentagon is sharing about the Iran war.
• Sen. Rand Paul, who chairs the homeland security committee, has said Hegseth’s handling of questions about the boat strikes shows he’s either “lying to us … or he’s incompetent.”
• Other GOP senators have recently raised concerns about the Pentagon excluding Democrats from briefings, including classified ones. “The Democrat members need to be brought up to speed,” Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota said last month.

That’s a lot. And it doesn’t even include Hegseth’s sharing of highly sensitive information about impending military strikes on the unclassified app, Signal. An inspector general’s report last year found that Hegseth could have jeopardized both the mission in Yemen and risked harm to US troops.

The Pentagon, for its part, has defended his leadership in previous comments to CNN as ushering in a new era for the department at the president’s direction.

But it seems the drip-drip-drip of controversy has registered with the American people, too.

Polls in recent months from Quinnipiac University and Marquette Law School show Hegseth about 20 points underwater. Registered voters disapproved of him 56%-34% in the former, and Americans viewed him unfavorably 46%-27% in the latter.

Both polls suggest he’s one of the most unpopular Trump Cabinet members – and possibly the most unpopular.

His -22 approval rating was worse than Vice President JD Vance (-17), Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (-9) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (-8) in recent polling from Quinnipiac and Fox News.

The Marquette poll in May also showed Hegseth’s support among the GOP is soft.

While 46% of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents had very favorable opinions of Rubio and 43% had the same with Vance, Hegseth’s number was just 29%.

Nearly 1 in 5 GOP-leaning Americans disliked Hegseth.

What’s more, just 1% of independents had a strongly favorable opinion of Hegseth, compared to 35% who had a strongly unfavorable one.

For now, President Donald Trump doesn’t want to hear it. He said this week that Hegseth is “doing a fantastic job.”

But amid a series of controversies and an unpopular Iran war that doesn’t look like it’s ending anytime soon, Hegseth is certainly trending toward embattled status.