The Guardian reported that Pete Hegseth has survived blame for the US midterms disaster and has avoided an impeachment vote. The account comes from a column by Emma Brockes published on November 11, 2026, in the Emma Brockes column in The Guardian. The column is an opinion piece, and this report draws only on the outlet's published summary of it.
According to The Guardian, Hegseth, whom the outlet describes as the US secretary of defence, has rebranded himself "secretary of war". The outlet's summary does not say when or how the change was made, and it does not describe any formal process behind it.
Brockes wrote that Hegseth's career may come to be seen as the defining appointment of the Trump era. The Guardian presented that view as a possibility looking back, not as a settled finding.
The Guardian also said the period ahead will bring one battle after another for Hegseth, and that he cannot win them all. The summary does not identify which battles are meant or what they concern.
The summary does not include the full text of the column, details of the criticism over the midterms, the circumstances surrounding the impeachment vote, or any response from Hegseth. Those points are not reported here beyond what the summary states.