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Replacements for embattled<\/span> War Secretary Pete Hegseth are increasingly being discussed at the Pentagon, according to current and former defense officials. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is at the top of many lists. Mike Waltz, the disgraced former national security adviser at the center of the 2025 Signalgate messaging scandal and currently U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has also been mentioned.<\/p>\n Those and other names have emerged as Hegseth is facing down a bipartisan impeachment effort as early as next week and is in a mad scramble to hold onto his job.<\/p>\n Officials acknowledged that both DeSantis and Waltz were dismal choices, but all who spoke with The Intercept said even the most problematic picks would be preferable to Hegseth, who has been excoriated at the Pentagon and beyond for Signal-gate<\/a>, his purge<\/a> of top military leaders, his inability to defeat Yemen\u2019s Houthis in 2025 or win the Iran war<\/a> in 2026, his campaign of extrajudicial killings<\/a> in attacks on so-called drug boats, his efforts to weaken transparency and scuttle accountability, and his obsession with troops\u2019 testosterone<\/a> levels, among other distractions<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the wake of an election rout<\/a> that handed Democrats firm control of the House and the Senate, Hegseth is in the crosshairs of lawmakers whom he has treated with contempt for two years. \u201cDead man walking<\/a>,\u201d said one official in an expos\u00e9 published by The Intercept Thursday. Hours after publication of that report, Hegseth launched a desperate bid to stave off his ouster, employing his Fox News-host-honed skills at fanning culture war flames to air his grievances and whip up the support of his boss and the MAGA faithful.<\/p>\n In a video posted on X<\/a>, the self-styled secretary of war pulled out the stops: \u201cHe literally took a bullet for this nation,\u201d Hegseth said amid obsequious flattery of Trump. \u201cHe shook his fist and said \u2018fight, fight, fight,\u2019 and so will we.\u201d<\/p>\n The chief of what he recently called \u201cthe most powerful, most lethal and most prepared military on the planet,\u201d Hegseth cast himself as a besieged victim and tied himself to Trump in a naked attempt to save his job. \u201cA disgruntled, defeated congressman, along with all his Democrat allies, has also dropped sham articles of impeachment against yours truly, just like they tried against President Trump twice,\u201d Hegseth carped in a video filmed outside the Pentagon.<\/p>\n Hegseth was referring to outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who said Wednesday that he plans to reintroduce articles of impeachment for high crimes and misdemeanors when the House is back in session next week. Numerous Democrats have indicated a desire to join Massie\u2019s effort to oust Hegseth since their midterm election landslide<\/a>, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries<\/a> of New York, who is poised to be the next speaker.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hegseth\u2019s missive to Trump hit many hot-button issues that Americans seemingly repudiated in Tuesday\u2019s electoral landslide. He boasted about driving \u201cthe weird and the woke\u201d out of the military and took aim at his and Trump\u2019s enemies. \u201cWhy do the Democrats and the deep state radicals really hate us? Because we tore down their sacred cows one by one and without apology,\u201d said Hegseth, who rattled off a list of things he has torn down, such as diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives; military efforts to combat climate change; the rechristening of military bases named for Confederate leaders; and the rights of trans service members.<\/p>\n Hegseth\u2019s video rant was part of a doomsday plan coordinated by chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, first reported by CNN<\/a> and corroborated by a defense official who spoke with The Intercept. It was accompanied by a coordinated campaign of social media posts by Pentagon underlings trying to tie Hegseth\u2019s fortunes to the president, consisting of photos<\/a> of the war secretary posturing<\/a> accompanied by the text, \u201cSTAND. FIGHT. DEFEND THE REPUBLIC<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n While it was a brazen attempt to cast any future effort by Trump to cut him loose as an enormous defeat for the president, officials said Parnell\u2019s Hail Mary could succeed. \u201cIt\u2019s sad. But it may work because Trump is so easy to manipulate,\u201d said one defense official. \u201cHegseth knows he is dealing with a president with the mind of a three-year-old.\u201d<\/p>\n During the Pentagon\u2019s Thursday afternoon social media blitz, one of those Hegseth underlings messaged this reporter a clip from the 2013 film \u201cThe Wolf of Wall Street,\u201d in which Leonardo DiCaprio\u2019s stockbroker character pivots mid-way through announcing his resignation and a deal with the Securities and Exchange Commission, declaring: \u201cI\u2019m not fucking leaving! \u2026 They\u2019re gonna need a fuckin\u2019 wrecking ball to take me outta here!\u201d<\/p>\n