Was Susie Wiles planning to throw Pete Hegseth under the bus over midterm loss? Details here

Susie Wiles, the outgoing White House Chief of Staff, was planning to throw Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth under the bus over the humiliating midterm loss for Republicans, British tabloid Daily Mail reported, citing sources aware of the developments.

After Tuesday night's crushing defeat, Wiles' loyalists spent their all to blame Hegseth for Republicans' loss, pointing to his role in the Iran war, which led to the cost of living crisis.

"Susie was trying to push out Pete" to deflect the blame for the midterm disaster, a senior Pentagon official told the tabloid. According to the report, Trump's advisors told him that Wiles' team was allegedly leaking to the press about Hegseth to divert attention from her.

"I think eventually enough people talked to him that he got very upset," the source said.

Republicans turn against Hegseth

Wiles, however, is not the only Republican to blame Hegseth for the massive electoral defeat. Republican lawmakers and allies are blaming the US Defence Secretary for the midterm losses due to his role in the Iran war and preparing to push for his impeachment when Congress reconvenes next week, according to a CNN report.

They believe that Hegseth played a key role in convincing the POTUS to attack Iran with no exit strategy and no plan for managing the political fallout of such a move.

Some believe that Pete Hegseth oversold the US military's ability to win the war quickly and easily, while continuing to support escalation despite little indication that continued attacks would force Tehran to surrender. They said that the conflict has turned into a quandary, dragging the US in the Middle East, triggering high fuel prices, and worsening the affordability crisis, leading to voters' revolt ahead of the midterm.

White House officials said Trump likes Hegseth and has encouraged him to resist impeachment efforts and probes into his decisions. He may also want to keep Hegseth in place for possible further strikes against Iran, given that Democratic control of the Senate could make confirming a successor difficult.

READ MORE | Republicans find a name to blame for the midterm loss: Trump’s trusted war secretary Pete Hegseth

Hegseth defends Iran war

Faced with scrutiny over his role in Iran war, Hegseth dismissed threats of impeachment as a "sham". He also strongly defended the ongoing war with Iran as a "courageous and historic effort".

In a video message on November 6, the embattled Pentagon chief asserted that the opposition lawmakers are targeting him because the administration is effective.

DON'T MISS | Hegseth fires back at impeachment threat, defends Iran war as 'courageous and historic effort'

Why did Iran war cost the Republicans?

After the results, US President Donald Trump publicly admitted that the Iran war cost the GOP heavily and helped usher in a 'bluenami'. In an interview with Fox News, Trump said that while the voters generally supported his actions against Tehran, "they really probably weren't willing to do the short-term consequence of paying more for gasoline. I understand that. I don't agree with it."

ALSO READ | 'Part of it was Iran, but...': Trump acknowledges West Asia conflict role in Democratic sweep

Not only Trump, his deputy JD Vance also blamed the war for the Republicans' US midterm rout.

"The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night," Vance wrote on X. "But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there."

He added that though Republican data analysts were initially optimistic, one analyst warned him that voters who supported the Trump administration in 2024 were now angry. "Our voters are turning out, but they may not vote for us," Vance quoted the analyst as saying, which turned out to be accurate.

According to JD Vance, the former Trump supporters identified 4 changes that could prompt them to consider the Republican Party again. These included putting an end the war, focusing on the cost of living and inflation, putting America first, and changing Washington's relationship with Israel.

MUST READ | 'The reason we lost is the war': JD Vance blames Iran conflict for Republicans' US midterm rout