Pressure to remove Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has now reached the top levels of House Republican leadership, with a senior GOP congressman acknowledging that questions about the Pentagon chief's future are mounting within the party.

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, addressed the matter in a Friday interview with News Nation, where he was asked whether he would like to see someone new lead the Pentagon.

"That's gonna be a decision President Trump is going to have to make," Comer said. "But I can tell you, with a high level of confidence, that there's a lot of questions about Hegseth. We have no idea what the strategy is moving forward on Iran. No one is happy about Iran. And I think the Republican voters are more upset about what's happening in Iran than the [Democratic] voters."

Comer said the topic dominated his conversations with GOP voters during recent months on the campaign trail — including among longtime supporters who "have been MAGA for the past 12 years, and MAGA flags in their yard and wore MAGA caps."

"I mean, they are mad that we are in this situation in Iran. They're mad over gas prices," he said.

In his view, many of those frustrated supporters responded by refusing to vote at all. "We've got to regain their trust. I think we can do it," Comer said.

The congressman added that leadership changes are coming across the board, including within the GOP, because Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is stepping down. Comer said he agreed with that decision, even though Johnson is "a good friend of mine." He suggested the next leader will likely be either Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), the House majority leader, or Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Comer then used the interview to attack "some of the new members on the [Democratic] side," arguing there are "a lot on that side that believe socialism is the answer" — at which point the host cut him off.

Hegseth, a former Fox News host who took office in January 2025, serves at the president's pleasure and can be dismissed without any congressional action. He has been pitched as a scapegoat option by some, who encourage the president to pin the failure of the Iran war on him and use the moment to heap blame on someone else who can be removed.

Outgoing Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) are both on board the "fire Hegseth" bandwagon, while many Democrats are looking to impeachment as an option.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), a retired Air Force brigadier general, supports Tillis's demand to remove Hegseth. "I hate to tell the president who he should hire and fire … but he would not be on my team," Bacon said.

Massie has already proposed articles of impeachment — a step that has rarely been used against a sitting Cabinet secretary — and when members return next week, they will be forced to vote on the measure, a roll call that will put every member's position on the record.

This article originally appeared on Alternet.