The knives are coming out inside President Donald Trump’s White House following Republicans’ crushing midterm election defeat, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth facing blame and administration officials looking for the exits, CNN reported Wednesday.
White House correspondent Kristen Holmes described an administration grappling with the fallout from Tuesday’s disastrous elections, with much of the finger-pointing directed at those who pushed Trump toward war with Iran.
“Over here at the White House, there's been a mix of both a little licking of wounds, but also a lot of casting of blame,” Holmes told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.
“And a lot of that focus is on the war in Iran, and particularly those who encouraged the war in Iran,” she continued.
“We're hearing knives out, particularly right now, for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth,” Holmes reported. “Somebody who was one of the top cheerleaders.”
Trump, however, publicly defended Hegseth when asked whether he might fire him.
“No, I think. He’s doing a very good job,” the president said.
Holmes also reported that Trump has repeatedly ruled out a staffing shakeup, but warned that the decision may not be entirely his.
“There are a number of people within this administration, from senior level to junior staffers, who aren't sure they're going to stay,” she said. “They're looking for their exit ramps.”
The prospect of Democratic investigations is also weighing on White House personnel.
“A lot of them don’t want to get caught up in these Democratic investigations,” Holmes explained. “They don't want to get subpoenaed. They don’t want to pay for legal fees.”
“So there is going to be some shakeup here at the White House,” she concluded. “Now, how far it goes, what it looks like, has yet to be seen.”