WASHINGTON, Nov.7 — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he still has confidence in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who faces renewed impeachment threats and bipartisan scrutiny following the midterm elections, according to CBS News.
In an interview on CBS’s 60 Minutes to be aired on Sunday, Trump said that he will be shaking up his team after Republicans lost both chambers of Congress in the elections. “I love my Cabinet. I think they’re good,” Trump said. “But I’ll … be doing maybe a few changes.”
When asked whether he has confidence in Hegseth, Trump said, “I do.”
Trump’s remarks came after CNN reported Wednesday that many Republican lawmakers, alarmed by Tuesday’s losses, were moving swiftly to blame the defense secretary for the election results, and the House could vote as soon as next week to impeach him.
A few hours after the CBS interview on Friday, Trump announced on social media that Stephen Miller, the current deputy chief of staff, will replace Susie Wiles as the White House chief of staff, starting Monday.
The move “came after Trump voiced fury at the strategy that led to Republicans decisively losing majorities in the House and Senate,” CNN cited people familiar with the matter as saying, adding that Wiles was among those Trump blamed for the Republican losses.
Miller, one of Trump’s most loyal aides, has been widely regarded as the architect of the Trump administration’s hardline immigration enforcement and deportation policies. U.S. media believe that Trump’s decision to install Miller as chief of staff represents a doubling down on his approach to governing, particularly his hardline immigration agenda. (Namibia Daily News/Xinhua)
