At this point, U.S. Secretary of Defense “Hegseth” is very likely to become the “sacrificial lamb” for Trump’s failed war against Iran!
The impeachment effort against Hegseth was launched by some Republicans and has received support from House Democratic leaders, greatly increasing the likelihood that he will be impeached.
During Trump's previous term, he himself was impeached. The House agreed to proceed, but the Senate rejected it. Even so, the process put considerable political pressure on Trump.
This time, Vice President Vance has made clear that the midterm defeat stemmed from the wrong war, so someone will have to pay the “price.” But directly targeting Trump is out of the question, so someone will have to “take the fall.” Hegseth is an obvious choice.
Hegseth, one of the few young defense secretaries in U.S. history and someone who had never held a major military position, is clearly a pawn Trump is using to try to control the military. The sad thing about being a pawn is knowing when the right time has come to be discarded—and that time is now. #黄仁勋因婚外情致歉，英伟达启动独立调查
Just speculating, but it’s unlikely that Congress will directly convict Hegseth. The most likely outcome is a successful impeachment and a new defense secretary. Trump may have to pay an enormous price to save him, and the Democrats certainly won’t let control of the military return to Trump’s hands. This is a great opportunity to weaken Trump’s grip on power.
At this point, the main purpose of Republicans initiating impeachment and sacrificing Hegseth would be to provide a plausible explanation for Trump’s miscalculation over the Iran war, giving Trump a way out.
Most importantly, if Republicans want to win the next presidential election, Vance is an excellent candidate. Sacrificing Hegseth is the best option for promoting Vance without damaging Trump’s reputation.
As things stand, the Democrats have few potential candidates for the next U.S. presidential election, and even fewer who can rival Vance. So Vance is very likely to be nominated in the next presidential race. As a senior U.S. official who was among the first to oppose the war with Iran, if Vance now also backs impeaching Hegseth, his support and profile both inside and outside the party will certainly grow even further!
The first half of Trump’s term has clearly been a failure. The next two years will be more about defense and laying the groundwork. I suspect the Republicans and Trump are already preparing for the midterm elections. Sacrificing Hegseth to take the blame for the Iran issue and then promoting Vance would indeed be a good move!