Democrats are threatening to use control of the House of Representatives to target War Secretary Pete Hegseth with congressional investigations, subpoenas and possible impeachment, making the Pentagon chief a major focus of their plans if they win the November 3 midterm elections.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) have both identified Hegseth as a priority, signaling that Democrats would move quickly against one of President Donald Trump’s most prominent Cabinet officials if they regain the majority.

“One of the first things we're going to do in the majority, we're going to run Pete Hegseth out of town,” Jeffries declared during a recent campaign appearance.

Jeffries reiterated his threat Sunday, saying Trump should remove Hegseth himself or Democrats would take up the matter if they gained control of the House.

“Pete Hegseth needs to be pushed aside by the president, or we're going to have to deal with that situation if he is not,” Jeffries said.

Crow, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, also made Hegseth’s removal a central objective. Appearing on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Crow described ousting the War Secretary as his “priority No. 1” if Democrats reclaim the chamber.

The statements indicate that a Democratic House majority could bring a series of confrontations with the Trump administration over Pentagon leadership, military operations and personnel decisions. Democrats could demand internal records, summon administration officials to testify and launch investigations that would put Hegseth and the department under sustained congressional scrutiny.

Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) has also called for Hegseth’s impeachment to rank among Democrats’ top three priorities. The effort could receive support from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who introduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth in September. Massie accused the War Secretary of violating congressional war powers and authorizing unlawful military operations.

Although Democrats could impeach Hegseth with a simple majority in the House, removing him from office would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate, a substantially higher threshold.

The White House has rejected the impeachment effort. Spokesperson Taylor Rogers dismissed it as a “sham attempt” to undermine Republicans and praised Hegseth’s work to rebuild and strengthen the U.S. military.

The dispute sets up another potential battle between Trump’s administration and congressional Democrats, with Hegseth facing explicit threats of removal before voters have decided control of the House. A Democratic takeover would give the party the power to initiate investigations and advance impeachment articles, although removal would remain dependent on the Senate.