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Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed, D-Mich., called on Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to resign on Tuesday, asking him, “Why are you still doing this job?”
Speaking with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, El-Sayed was asked whether Democrats should revive the failed impeachment attempt against Hegseth.
“Can you imagine being Pete Hegseth right now? Like, why are you still in your job? I mean it’s an open question, like ‘Pete, like really, just open question, why are you still doing this job? You are really bad at this. You are failing your responsibility, you have mishandled this war, and nobody really actually understands what it is you’re about,'” El-Sayed said.
He spoke directly to the camera and said Hegseth was fighting a new culture war every day, but that he was supposed to be “waging an actual war that is actually illegal on its own terms.”
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Michigan Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed demanded Secretary of War Pete Hegseth resign during a CNN interview on Tuesday. (Sarah Rice/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Pete Kiehart/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“So, just resign. Make it easy for everybody instead of, in the end, getting taken out because that is clearly what’s happening. So, Pete, just take it from me — like you’re not good at this,” El-Sayed added.
House Republicans killed an impeachment effort led by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., on Tuesday, by voting 211-204 to refer the resolution to the House Judiciary Committee and avoid a full vote on impeachment.
All Democrats who voted opposed the motion, but 11 Democrats were absent.
President Donald Trump celebrated the failed impeachment effort in a Truth Social post, calling Massie a “total loser” and praising Hegseth’s record on recruitment and military operations in Venezuela and Iran.
Collins asked El-Sayed during the CNN interview, “I mean you’re talking directly to Pete Hegseth. What do you say to those 11 Democrats who didn’t show up to vote tonight?”
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Michigan Democratic Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed addressed the secretary of war directly on CNN, saying he was failing his responsibilities. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
El-Sayed told Democrats to show up and “do your job,” as Collins said it was “surprising” that Democratic absences helped prevent a vote on the impeachment articles.
The Michigan senator-elect said he fielded questions from voters while on the campaign trail about high gas and grocery prices and attributed those costs to the war in Iran.
“Pete Hegseth has aided and abetted a president who we all know is way out of his league,” he said. “And so, you know, I think it is important for us to be recognizing that Pete Hegseth himself is the tie to the affordability that all of us crave when it comes to this administration.”
“So look, you know, obviously I’m not going to be in a position to vote to impeach, and I will assess any impeachment that is done on its own merits, but it’s really quite clear that Pete Hegseth is failing his responsibilities as Secretary of Defense,” El-Sayed added.
The White House and the Department of War did not immediately return Digital’s request for comment.
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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on Nov. 10, 2026, in Arlington, Virginia. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Hegseth remained defiant during a news conference Tuesday, pushing back against the impeachment effort.
He said he stood behind military operations in Iran, Venezuela and Yemen, describing them as lawful.
“What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, it’s not accountability. It’s a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment,” Hegseth said.
“Time for one man’s final days in Congress to try to do damage to this president, this country and most irresponsibly, the warriors who defend it,” he added.
Y. David Scharf, a government strategies and controversies attorney, told Digital in a statement, “Democrats could spend the next two years trying to impeach Pete Hegseth and end up making him stronger.”
“Congress may have every right to investigate, demand documents and subpoena witnesses,” he continued. “But there’s a world of difference between holding an administration accountable and trying to remove someone simply because you don’t like his policies.”
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“Calling for Hegseth’s resignation is easy,” Scharf added. “Actually removing him requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate. And if Democrats can’t even get their own members to show up for a vote, how do they expect to convince Republicans to join them?”
