Pete Hegseth survives… but will Trump fire him?

Americast

Wednesday, 11 November 2026 - 28 minutes

Pete Hegseth has survived an impeachment attempt, but for how long? What does this mean, and will he keep his job as Defence Secretary? Republican Congressman Thomas Massie has accused Hegseth of fighting an unauthorised war with Iran, but his own party blocked the move.

In this episode, Sarah and Sumi unpack Pete Hegseth’s first press conference in six months, where he dismissed the impeachment as a “farce” and a “stunt”, and discuss how Trump is standing by him… for now. But with Democrats taking over Congress in January, and Vice President JD Vance blaming the Iran war for the Republicans’ midterm defeat, can Hegseth hold on?

Plus, Donald Trump is making new claims about the veracity of the midterm elections… we discuss how far the US president might go, and what his claims are based on. We also look at the still undecided senate race in Alaska between Democrat Mary Peltola and Republican Dan Sullivan and why Trump this particular race is “rigged”.HOSTS- Sarah Smith, BBC North America Editor
- Sumi Somaskanda, BBC Chief PresenterGET IN TOUCH:
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