'He should be out of a job': Don Beyer questions War Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership

With the ceasefire agreement between Washington and Tehran set to expire on Wednesday, Democratic lawmakers have raised fresh concerns over President Donald Trump and War Secretary Pete Hegseth's handling of the conflict. Rep. Don Beyer criticized Hegseth over his leadership of the military, accusing him of running operations based on his personal ideology and vendettas. Beyer argued that Hegseth was putting his interest ahead of national security and demanded his removal. This comes at a time when a growing number of Democratic Senators have shown distrust toward Hegseth, demanding answers from him about his execution of military operations against Iran. 

While the war in Iran seems far from concluding, top officials of the military seem to be fighting on a second front, with their jobs on the line. Since taking office last year, Hegseth has ousted at least 21 generals, many of whom were fired for no apparent reason other than possibly their suspected political stance, race, or sex, according to a report by The Economist, Beyers shared. Furthermore, Hegseth's use of religion to justify the military action in the Middle East has raised concerns about him pushing U.S. service members to commit war crimes. "Time and time again, Pete Hegseth has put petty vendettas and his extremist personal ideology ahead of the best interest of servicemembers or national security," Beyers wrote in an X post. He added that in a "sane world he (Hegseth) never would have been confirmed," and that "he should be out of a job." 

Other Democrats have raised similar concerns, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also calling for Hegseth's removal on Monday. Speaking at a press conference, Jeffries claimed that there was no intelligence to suggest that Iran presented an imminent threat to the U.S., and there was no plan of action for the war either. He claimed that the reckless war plunged the global economy into a crisis, and no one but Trump and Hegseth is to blame. "Why is Pete Hegseth still around? He should have never even been elevated to this position. He is the most unqualified Secretary of Defense in American history, and we are seeing it all play out right now in real time," Jeffries said.        

The comments come at a time when a group of Democratic senators called on Hegseth to answer questions about his execution of military operations against Iran. The 11 senators from the Democratic caucus wrote a letter to Hegseth raising questions about four separate U.S. attacks that killed civilians in Iran, as per the New York Times. The senators further took note of Hegseth’s declaration that he would offer "no quarter" and "no mercy for our enemies," which, according to them, was an explicit violation of international law. 

Meanwhile, the second round of peace talks between Tehran and Washington still looks murky despite the ceasefire agreement ending soon. While Vice President J.D. Vance and top US officials are reportedly set to leave for Pakistan, Iranian officials have insisted that they will not participate in the negotiations until the U.S. lifts its naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, CNN reported.