The Iran War Destroys the Midterm Elections The Post: The Pentagon May Face Liability and Personnel Disaster

As the results of the U.S. midterm elections were announced and the Democratic Party regained control of Congress, senior Pentagon officials were forced to face the cruel reality on the 4th: the unpopular war with Iran was the main reason for the defeat of the Trump administration and the Republican Party. The Washington Post reported that President Trump’s accountability may not be directed at Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who supports him, but at Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine, or Commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Brad Cooper, who is responsible for overseeing the war.

Reports pointed out that after winning the election, the Democratic Party immediately targeted Hegseth, who had frequently caused conflicts in the past two years. Hegseth has been the chief salesman for the war launched by the Trump administration and Israel in February this year against Iran. He once publicly declared that "the Iranian army has been destroyed" and declared "total victory" just weeks after the war began. However, the war is still raging and a peace agreement remains out of reach.

People familiar with the matter revealed to The Post that as the extent of the Republican Party's defeat in the election gradually became clear, the atmosphere within the Pentagon was full of uncertainty, and there was even a phenomenon of "knives out" shirk-the-blame. It is reported that Cooper is the strategic architect of the Iran war and went to the White House last week to recommend additional military action. Kaine, Trump's top military adviser, has generally not opposed Trump's plans despite warnings about ammunition shortages and a lack of support from allies.

A person close to Trump's inner circle pointed out that Trump is looking for "war criminals" responsible for the election defeat, and the above three people may become scapegoats. However, Trump still publicly supported Hegseth after the election, saying he "did a great job."

The Democratic Party's regaining control of the House and Senate means that Trump's personnel appointments and defense budget will face strict scrutiny in the future. Democratic Rep. Adam Smith, who is expected to take over the House Armed Services Committee in January next year, said that strong oversight of the Pentagon will be his top priority.

The scope of the investigation is expected to extend beyond the Iran war to other controversies during Hegseth's tenure, including the approval of lethal strikes against drug traffickers, the unreasonable firing of top generals and the introduction of polygraph detection within the department to prevent leaks, among other purges. Republican Congressman Thomas Massie is also expected to push for an impeachment vote against Hegseth in the House of Representatives this month.

On Capitol Hill, the Republican Party's defeat also cast a shadow on the new year's defense budget of up to US$1.5 trillion (approximately NT$49 trillion). The budget includes Trump's push for the Golden Dome missile defense system and a controversial proposal to rename the Department of Defense the "War Department." With only about 20 legislative days left before the Democratic Party takes over Congress, and the Republican Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, who is responsible for budget negotiations, failed to be re-elected, it will be difficult for the bill to pass before the end of the year.

If more funding is not available, the Pentagon will face severe funding and weapons shortages caused by the war with Iran. According to Central Command estimates, as of mid-October, this conflict has cost more than 47 billion U.S. dollars (approximately NT$1.5 trillion), and ammunition alone has burned 30 billion U.S. dollars.