US Senator Ted Cruz has said Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is likely to leave his post voluntarily, be dismissed by President Donald Trump or face impeachment in the House of Representatives as pressure over the impeachment effort continues.Speaking on his podcast on Monday, the Texas Republican outlined what he described as the two likely outcomes for Hegseth, warning that the House could move towards impeachment if the defence secretary does not step down or get fired.“Either Hegseth is going to step down, either he will resign voluntarily, or Trump will fire him. Or if that does not happen, I think it is extremely likely, if not certain, that the House will impeach him,” Cruz said.His remarks reflect concerns among some Republicans in Washington about Hegseth’s position as lawmakers pursue an impeachment effort against him.Hegseth, however, has rejected the move, describing it as a “political spectacle”. At a news conference on Tuesday, he accused the Republican lawmaker seeking to force an impeachment vote of attempting to stage a “show trial”.The defence secretary faces allegations that he illegally waged war without congressional authorisation and abused his powers. He dismissed the effort as politically motivated, saying it was directed at him because of his association with Trump.“It’s a farce, and it’s a stunt, and everybody knows it,” Hegseth said.During Tuesday’s news conference, Hegseth was asked whether he agreed with Vice President JD Vance’s assessment that the Iran war was a major reason Republicans lost ground in the midterm elections. Hegseth said he respected Vance but would not engage in assigning blame.“I respect JD greatly, and I’m certainly not going to engage in any finger-pointing,” he said.Hegseth maintained that his responsibility was to oversee the Pentagon rather than assess the political impact of the conflict. He said others would examine the war and its consequences, while his focus remained on ensuring the department was prepared and ready.“Thankfully, politics is not really my thing. I do the Department of War and make sure we’re prepared and ready,” he said.
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