Pete Hegseth is pushing back against mounting calls for his impeachment, even as speculation builds over the defense secretary's political future. On ABC's "The View," co-host Joy Behar suggested that Hegseth may follow in President Donald Trump's footsteps by seeking elected office — and could ultimately want his own shot at the presidency.

"My sources also tell me, my spies," Behar joked, before adding, "that he is exploring running for president, or running for Senate from Tennessee. Hegseth." Her co-hosts at the roundtable sighed at the revelation.

Earlier in the conversation, Behar argued that Hegseth has been doing what he can to distance himself from Trump and from any accountability tied to his controversial decision-making. She pointed to the secretary's own words at his press briefing responding to articles of impeachment, during which the United States Secretary of Defense dismissed the charges as a "political spectacle." According to Behar, there is ongoing inner turmoil between Trump and his team.

"He's throwing Trump under the bus, but he's doing it in a very subtle way. There's no loyalty between Trump and his people. So it works both ways," Behar asserted. "He said, 'I ran the cartels. Every one was a lawful operation ordered by the commander in chief, then ordered by myself.' He called the Iran war a 'historic event effort only made possible by a courageous commander in chief.' He claimed, 'Americans are lining up to serve President Trump's Department of War.' So he says he's just following orders. We've heard that before."

For now, Trump is vowing to stand by Hegseth. After outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced eight articles of impeachment against him, the president awarded the Pentagon chief an "A" plus for his work. "Pete Hegseth gets an 'A' PLUS, PLUS, PLUS for his defense against a disgruntled, angry, defeated, former Congressman, Thomas Massie, a TOTAL LOSER," Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday. In a separate post, Trump called the press conference "a great job by Pete Hegseth — A MUST SEE." Under the Constitution, impeaching a cabinet officer follows the same process used for presidents: a simple majority in the House to impeach, followed by a Senate trial in which removal from office requires a two-thirds vote.

Trump has publicly backed Hegseth, but sources say his private posture has been the opposite. He has reportedly asked advisers and allies about the defense secretary's standing, The Hill previously reported. That gap between the president's public praise and his reported private questions is what keeps both Hegseth's standing in the Cabinet and the prospects of Massie's impeachment push an open question.

During his press briefing, Hegseth branded the impeachment articles a "farce" and a "stunt," saying, "In the 250 years of our American republic, no secretary of War or secretary of Defense has ever been impeached for carrying out lawful military operations, and in our case, successful ones at that." He also accused Massie of attempting to impeach him over policy disagreements, calling the effort a "personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment," and adding, "That's what it is. Policy disagreements, not high crimes, not misdemeanors, not treason, not bribery, not the kinds of offenses the founders intended when they wrote the impeachment clause."