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Trump: Hegseth would be ‘very popular’ as Tennessee senator
The Hill ^ | 10/04/2026 | Filip Timotija

Posted on 11/04/2026 3:21:54 PM PST by Miami Rebel

President Trump said Wednesday he is not considering replacing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth but predicted the Pentagon chief would be “very popular” if he filled Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s (R-Tenn.) seat. “No, I think he’s doing a very good job,” the president said when asked whether he is considering replacing Hegseth following the Republican Party’s poor showing during Tuesday’s midterms, where Democrats took the House, the Senate and multiple governors’ mansions. CBS News reported Wednesday that Trump has been asking advisers and allies whether Hegseth should stay in the post following the midterms. Hegseth, a former Army National Guard major, is interested in the open Tennessee Senate seat and has been campaigning behind the scenes for the post, The Hill previously reported. “I think he’s doing a very good job, and I actually think he’d be very popular if he did that. But I haven’t heard that at all,” Trump said Wednesday when asked whether he would want the Defense secretary to fill Blackburn’s seat. Some political observers agree Hegseth would be a heavyweight in the race. “I certainly think Pete Hegseth is going to be the guy that is going to have the most weight in the room. I mean, being the Secretary of War and having done what he’s done, and I’m confident [he would be] getting the endorsement of the president, I would think,” Tennessee GOP operative Monty Lankford previously said, using the administration’s preferred name for the Department of Defense. Questions are swirling inside the Pentagon over how long Hegseth lasts after the midterms even if he is not impeached, something that House Democrats are eager to pursue once they regain the majority, The Hill reported. Blackburn beat Democrat Jerri Green on Tuesday night to become Tennessee’s first female governor. Other Tennessee politicians are interested in the Senate seat, which expires in early 2031. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), who has campaigned for Blackburn, is in the mix, along with former Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs and former CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger. “I will be honored to have that,” Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), who won his Tennessee’s 3rd Congressional District reelection bid, said in a recent interview with Tennessee Lookout


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: anonymoussources; boom; hegseth; paragraphs; tds; tennessee; yourefired
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We as a nation might not be on an off-ramp from Iran, but Hegseth is.
1 posted on 11/04/2026 3:21:54 PM PST by Miami Rebel
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To: Miami Rebel

So I guess rumors are right.

Hegseth is on his way out of the War Department.


2 posted on 11/04/2026 3:24:14 PM PST by Responsibility2nd
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To: Miami Rebel

Ironic- Rumsfeld was fired just days after the 2006 debacle...


3 posted on 11/04/2026 3:26:57 PM PST by God luvs America
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To: Responsibility2nd

Yea I’m sure the Democrats will confirm only someone who is going to undermine Trump. Don’t do it Trump. The DOW will leak and spread rumors for 2 years. No one who isn’t explicitly anti Trump Will be confirmed. Maybe nominate Hillary


4 posted on 11/04/2026 3:33:01 PM PST by wiseprince (Me)
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To: Responsibility2nd

Yea I’m sure the Democrats will confirm only someone who is going to undermine Trump. Don’t do it Trump. The DOW will leak and spread rumors for 2 years. No one who isn’t explicitly anti Trump Will be confirmed. Maybe nominate Hillary


5 posted on 11/04/2026 3:33:05 PM PST by wiseprince (Me)
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To: Miami Rebel

Maybe ambassador to Greece? Just spitballin’.


6 posted on 11/04/2026 3:38:24 PM PST by Texas Eagle (If it wasn't for double-standards, Liberals would have no standards at all. )
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To: Responsibility2nd

Seems so.


7 posted on 11/04/2026 3:43:14 PM PST by lastchance (Cognovit Dominus qui sunt eius.)
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To: Miami Rebel

Would he be popular singing as a replacement for Dolly Parton or Taylor Swift in TN too?


8 posted on 11/04/2026 3:44:49 PM PST by Freedom of Speech Wins (A)
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To: Miami Rebel

No. He’s not a Tennesseean.


9 posted on 11/04/2026 3:45:29 PM PST by Fledermaus (Free Republic is now Anti-Trump and Anti-Republican.)
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To: Freedom of Speech Wins

TS is not a Tennesseean.


10 posted on 11/04/2026 3:46:24 PM PST by Fledermaus (Free Republic is now Anti-Trump and Anti-Republican.)
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To: lastchance

Hegseth has the Trump factor going for him. What is it? It’s the standing your ground element. More in tuned with the senate.


11 posted on 11/04/2026 3:48:18 PM PST by DIRTYSECRET
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To: Miami Rebel

I’m pretty sure Hegseth is a LtCol.


12 posted on 11/04/2026 3:54:39 PM PST by Laslo Fripp (Does anybody proofread anymore?)
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To: Fledermaus

Yeah, trying to figure out how that works. Bio says he moved there in 2022, but he was still hosting F&F from NYC.

So best case he spent a few days a week there for a couple years?


13 posted on 11/04/2026 3:54:40 PM PST by Renfrew
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To: Renfrew

2022? Never knew that. I didn’t even know he lived here.


14 posted on 11/04/2026 4:04:11 PM PST by Fledermaus (Free Republic is now Anti-Trump and Anti-Republican.)
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To: Responsibility2nd
So I guess rumors are right. Hegseth is on his way out of the War Department.

There is absolutely no evidence that Trump wants Hegseth to leave.

15 posted on 11/04/2026 4:04:59 PM PST by FreeReign
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To: FreeReign

There is absolutely no evidence that Trump wants Hegseth to leave.

________________________

You may be right. Only if we take Trump at his word.

And that’s a foolish thing to do.


16 posted on 11/04/2026 4:08:34 PM PST by Responsibility2nd
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To: Responsibility2nd
There is absolutely no evidence that Trump wants Hegseth to leave.

You may be right. Only if we take Trump at his word. And that’s a foolish thing to do.

What?

17 posted on 11/04/2026 4:17:28 PM PST by FreeReign
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To: wiseprince

I was thinking the same.


18 posted on 11/04/2026 4:33:19 PM PST by vivenne (7Come to think of it. Fact.)
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To: Miami Rebel

I wish Trump would get out of the business of encouraging people to run for office. That hasn’t gone so well lately.


19 posted on 11/04/2026 4:59:51 PM PST by boycott
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To: Miami Rebel

Shut up Don. Pete is from Minnesota.


20 posted on 11/04/2026 5:02:18 PM PST by x
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