Jason Crow Says Ousting Hegseth Is His Top Goal if Democrats Win the House

Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado said on Sunday that if Democrats retake the House majority, removing Pete Hegseth from the Pentagon would be his "priority number one." The remark came on CBS's Face the Nation, where the Democrat called Hegseth incompetent and said service members deserve better leadership.

What makes the moment worth noting is the setting. The question was not about Hegseth. Host Margaret Brennan asked about an intelligence memo describing an Iranian effort to target Americans overseas. Crow did not offer details on that threat. He spoke about Russia and the Trump administration, and he named Hegseth in the same answer.

With the midterms approaching and CBS polling pointing to a close House race, the exchange offers an early look at what a Democratic majority might want to do with its gavels.

A Question About Iran, an Answer About Hegseth

Brennan opened with a memo from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton. According to Brennan, the memo says Iran has "substantially increased" efforts to target U.S. personnel and describes lethal plotting at advanced stages in the Middle East and other countries. She also noted that the United States has drawn down from some military bases and diplomatic posts. The memo was not reviewed for this story, and its contents here come from Brennan's description on air.

"What, if anything, can you tell us about this plot?" Brennan asked, according to the CBS transcript.

Crow, speaking from Denver, did not describe the plot. He said Putin and Russia are Iran's primary supporter, supplying intelligence and targeting. He said Steve Witkoff had sat across from Putin "in the last two weeks" and called him a humanitarian, and he said President Trump had "lifted and eased sanctions" that provided "tens of billions of dollars" to Russia. None of those claims was independently verified in the coverage reviewed for this story.

On Hegseth, Crow said: "Pete Hegseth remains incompetent and is not doing what's necessary to protect our service members." He described removing him as "my priority number one if we retake the majority, to make sure we oust him from the Pentagon." That assessment of Hegseth is Crow's own and was not independently verified.

"[O]ur service members actually deserve competent, serious, real leadership." — Rep. Jason Crow on Face the Nation

How Would a House Majority Do It?

Crow did not say. He described no mechanism, such as impeachment, a vote or a funding fight. His pledge is conditional on a Democratic win and silent on the method.

His committee role is described differently in the coverage. The Washington Examiner identified him as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, while Brennan said he sits on the Intelligence Committee. Crow also described himself as battleground chair for House Democrats and said he has recruited and mentored candidates.

The Examiner's headline rendered his words as "priority No. 1"; the transcript shows he said "priority number one." Breitbart also posted a clip and partial transcript of the exchange.

The Rest of the Interview

Crow said he, Adam Smith of Armed Services and Jim Himes of Intelligence wrote to Trump about Elon Musk's control over SpaceX's Starlink services in Ukraine. Brennan noted that Ukraine reported the services fully restored on Saturday.

Brennan also cited CBS polling showing Democrats on pace for a narrow House majority of about 11 seats, while 57 percent of voters say Democrats lack a clear plan. Crow said Democrats would take power in January.

No response from Hegseth, the Pentagon or the White House appeared in the coverage reviewed for this story.

What Comes Next

Voters decide control of the House in November, and Crow said a new majority would take power in January. Between now and then, the questions are whether the administration responds, whether Republicans answer him, whether other Democrats adopt the same pledge, and whether more is made public about the Iranian threat that prompted the question.