When JD Vance blamed the Iran war for the Republican election drubbing that has been described as a near-extinction event for the party, he was not only distancing himself from Trump and the war that he did not support.
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Vance was also setting up Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to take the fall.
Trump had been blaming Vance for the midterm election defeat, because in his view Vance’s rallies drew small crowds, but the day after the midterm election, it began to be reported that Trump had been calling around about Hegseth:
President Trump has been asking advisers around him and on the phone whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth should stay in his job, following Republicans’ catastrophic losses Tuesday night, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell CBS News.
Some White House aides have predicted some of the blame for GOP midterm losses will be trained on Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, who both played big roles in guidance on the Iran war.
Keep these facts in mind as Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) is about to force a vote on Hegseth's impeachment next week.