Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is considering stepping down from his Pentagon duties to pursue political office in his adopted home state, according to a new report.
Weeks before condemning the Pentagon’s internal Signalgate review as a “sham” on Tuesday, the defense secretary reportedly began discussing a potential 2026 gubernatorial run in Tennessee, sources told NBC News.
According to Defense Department rules preventing civilian employees from seeking political office, Hegseth would need to resign his post to launch a campaign.
If Hegseth were to follow through, it would mark the biggest shake-up in Pentagon leadership since the Trump administration ousted Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Brown in February.
The Pentagon’s chief spokesman Sean Parnell denied that Hegseth has ambitions of political office, and said the former Fox News host’s focus “remains solely on serving under President Trump.” Parnell said the sources are either “imaginary” or the news station was “getting punked.”
The sources, who said they have spoken with Hegseth directly, claimed the defense secretary specifically mentioned a possible campaign for governor in Tennessee, where he has his primary residence. In a separate report, sources also told The Washington Post that Hegseth had discussed seeking political office.
The state will have an open race with incumbent GOP Governor Bill Lee constitutionally prohibited from seeking a third consecutive term.
A source told NBC News that they discussed eligibility requirements with Hegseth and his chances of winning if he were to enter the race. A second person said they talked with Hegseth about the realities of a campaign.
Tennessee, however, requires that people live in the state for seven years before running for office, far longer than Hegseth’s three years residing in the state.
One source said that they had a discussion with Hegseth within the past three weeks. It was serious, they said, more than just brainstorming. Another source also characterized the conversation as serious.
Both sources said that while Hegseth had been contemplating the Tennessee gubernatorial run, it was unclear after their conversations whether he would take the plunge.
Others in Hegseth’s inner circle reportedly said that he doesn’t plan to launch a campaign.
One person who discussed the potential Pentagon departure with Hegseth said the defense secretary was “very, very clear” that he was not going to run for political office. The idea was “totally off the table,” they said.
It’s not the first time Hegseth has reportedly eyed political office.
The former Fox News host ran for a Senate seat in Minnesota in 2012, but he withdrew after failing to win the Republican nomination. Minnesota also has an open Senate seat next year.
Since his confirmation in January, Hegseth has faced a string of controversies, including firing three senior Pentagon appointees – Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll, and Darin Selnick – who he accused of leaking classified and sensitive information to the media.
The defense secretary was engulfed in Signalgate in April after top officials mistakenly included The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg in a Signal group chat, giving him a front-row seat to discussions about impending U.S. strikes on Houthi militants in Yemen back in March.
A Washington Post report emerged that the White House put a stop to Hegseth’s team allegedly using polygraph tests to root out leakers to the press in the aftermath of the Signalgate scandal.
The Independent has contacted the Pentagon for more information.
