Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) has made removing Secretary of War Pete Hegseth his top priority if Democrats regain control of the House in the November midterm elections, escalating Democratic criticism of the Trump administration’s military leadership.

Crow, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, made the remarks Sunday during an appearance on CBS News’ Face the Nation. He argued that Hegseth was failing to provide the leadership necessary to protect American service members amid ongoing security threats involving Iran.

“Pete Hegseth remains incompetent and is not doing what's necessary to protect our service members, which is why he's my priority No. 1 if we retake the majority, to make sure we oust him from the Pentagon,” Crow said. “Our service members actually deserve competent, serious, real leadership that will protect them and do the right thing.”

Crow acknowledged that Iran remained a danger but did not provide specific details when asked about reports that U.S. officials had received intelligence indicating Tehran had significantly increased efforts to target American personnel in the Middle East.

The Colorado Democrat also criticized the Trump administration’s handling of the Russia-Ukraine war and the conflict with Iran, arguing that the Pentagon needed stronger leadership to protect U.S. personnel and advance American national security interests.

Crow’s pledge comes as Democrats seek to regain control of the House in the midterm elections. A change in party control would give Democrats greater authority over committee agendas and investigations, including the power to issue subpoenas through their committees and scrutinize Trump administration officials.

Crow also weighed in on a controversy involving Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), who has faced Senate ethics complaints over remarks at a university event that critics said discouraged young professionals from joining the Trump administration.

Defending the distinction between public service and personal financial gain, Crow argued that government positions should not be used to enrich officials.

“The key here is we don't want people to want to go work for a corrupt administration to try to line their pockets, like that is not servant leadership,” Crow said.

He also criticized what he characterized as a message from President Donald Trump that working in his administration could lead to personal wealth.

“If the message being sent from Donald Trump is, ‘Hey, come work for me, and you'll get a lot out of it, and you'll get rich doing it.’ That's not actually public servants,” Crow added.

Crow’s comments underscore how control of the House could shape Democrats’ efforts to challenge the Trump administration’s policies and pursue investigations of its senior officials. His stated intention to make Hegseth’s removal a top priority signals that the Pentagon’s leadership could become a major target if Democrats regain the chamber.