More than half of Republican Capitol Hill aides believe Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is harming President Donald Trump’s foreign policy goals, according to a damning new survey.
The poll, conducted by Punchbowl News in partnership with public affairs firm LSG, asked senior Hill aides whether Hegseth, 45, had helped or harmed Trump’s national security priorities.
Among Republican respondents, 52 percent said he had done damage, against just 18 percent who said he had helped.
The survey was completed between February 10 and March 2, mostly before the launch of Operation Epic Fury, the joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran that got underway on February 28.
“We have only just begun to fight and fight decisively,” Hegseth declared last week, positioning himself as a leading public advocate for the Iran offensive.
The wider numbers are even more punishing. Across party lines, 72 per cent of senior Hill aides told Punchbowl that Hegseth had been a drag on Trump’s agenda, with just 9 per cent willing to credit him with helping.
Even on the right, where Republicans on Capitol Hill have largely rallied behind him in public, the private verdict is clear.
That skepticism reflects a tenure marked by one controversy after another. The Signal group chat scandal last March—in which top administration officials were found to have shared sensitive details of pending military strikes in Yemen in an unsecured message thread—became one of the most scrutinized episodes of Hegseth’s time in office.
A separate furor has erupted over U.S. forces carrying out deadly strikes on boats suspected of drug trafficking in the Caribbean, sparking questions about legality and rules of engagement that have since drawn multiple congressional inquiries.
The damage to Hegseth’s standing extends beyond raw approval figures. When staffers were asked which Republicans had done the most to grow their prominence within Trump’s political base, only 14 percent included Hegseth in their top three, well behind Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.
Hegseth is now staking his reputation partly on the outcome in Iran.
Operation Epic Fury has seen U.S. and Israeli forces sink more than 30 Iranian naval vessels and drive down ballistic missile attacks by 90 percent, according to U.S. Central Command.
Iran’s foreign minister has since told NBC News that Tehran has not requested a ceasefire and is not open to negotiations. A Senate resolution to curtail Trump’s war-making authority failed to pass.
Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson told the Daily Beast: “President Trump has repeatedly praised Secretary Hegseth’s leadership and impact on the military. The only feedback we’re interested in is from the president, our warfighters, and the American people.”
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said, “Secretary Hegseth is doing an incredible job leading the Department of War. Secretary Hegseth works in lockstep with President Trump every day to ensure the American military continues to be the greatest, most powerful fighting force in the world that will crush our enemies and defend our great Nation.”
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