Current and former White House insiders are openly describing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as a "dead man walking," claiming that the hammer is going to drop on him one way or another, according to a report published by The Intercept.

The assessment follows the GOP's bruising implosion in this week's midterm elections. Much of the blame inside the party has already been directed at the Iran war, and Hegseth — one of its principal leaders — is increasingly likely to face major consequences as a result. Because midterm outcomes also reshape the makeup of Congress, they carry procedural weight here: the post-election landscape will influence how, and how aggressively, lawmakers can pursue accountability against a sitting Cabinet secretary.

GOP Rep. Thomas Massie has announced that he intends to continue bringing articles of impeachment against Hegseth once Congress returns from recess. Impeachment has historically been aimed at presidents and federal judges, with Cabinet-level officials only rarely targeted, making even repeated attempts a conspicuous signal of dissent inside the party. Other reports suggest the defense secretary may be exploring other ways out of the Cabinet to avoid accountability.

Whichever way things shake out for him, various insider sources who spoke with The Intercept this week believe Hegseth is doomed no matter what — and that he deserves the biggest punishment possible. The outlet said it had spoken with "six current and former defense officials as well as additional sources on Capitol Hill, most on the condition of anonymity in order to speak freely."

"By Wednesday evening, sentiment within the Pentagon suggested that Hegseth's days are numbered, with names of potential replacements already being bandied about," the report explained.

One anonymous Pentagon official called the self-styled "War Secretary" a "dead man walking," with another source, credited as a "former defense official," agreeing. "They pinned the failure in Iran on him. Now it's only a matter of time," that source told The Intercept.

One of the on-the-record sources was Wes J. Bryant, who served until last year as a senior targeting adviser and policy analyst at the Pentagon. Bryant pulled no punches in sizing up Hegseth's predicament. He was pushed out of the Defense Department by Hegseth in response to his efforts to expose his former boss's attempts to weaken protections for civilians.

"He is conducting state terrorism," Bryant said. "He is 100 percent a war criminal. He needs to be prosecuted."

An anonymous GOP staffer in Washington, D.C., told the outlet that it looked increasingly likely that Hegseth "could easily become the president's fall guy," while another senior staffer added that he "might be purged, himself, to avoid additional embarrassment."

"If Hegseth does stay and he survives this moment, Oversight is going to come crashing down on his head," the senior staffer said. "Will Hegseth continue to obstruct? Yes. But wait until the subpoenas start."

The immediate markers to watch are concrete: whether Massie formally moves his articles of impeachment when Congress reconvenes, whether Hegseth exits the Cabinet on his own terms or is shown the door, and — if he stays — how quickly that promised subpoena phase arrives.