Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was scheduled to head to Iowa on Monday to give remarks, speak to veterans and campaign, sources told CBS News, as Republicans try to protect multiple GOP-held seats in Congress.
A parade of top Trump administration officials has been traveling to the battleground state in support of GOP candidates and for official business.
Spokespeople for the Pentagon didn’t immediately answer a request for comment.
Among those who booked Iowa stops in recent days: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Small Business Association Administrator Kelly Loeffler, VA Secretary Doug Collins, NATO’s Matt Whitaker and others.
Although Iowa has been red for several cycles now, Democrats are bullish about their candidates this year. Two U.S. House seats, currently held by Republican Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, are considered very competitive, and there are open races for both a U.S. Senate seat and the governor’s office.
Hegseth will appear at an event for Nunn, who currently serves as a colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. Nunn served the Air Force for nearly two decades, and has been in Congress since 2023.
In 2024, Nunn won his race by just four points, and the Cook Political Report rates his seat as lean Republican.
Miller-Meeks’ race is a toss-up, according to Cook Political Report, and she’s represented the 1st District in Iowa since 2021. She’s facing the same Democrat who ran for the seat in 2022 and 2024, Christine Bohannan. Miller-Meeks won a narrow victory over Bohannan in 2024 — defending her seat with a 798-vote margin. Another factor in the race is independent Michael Bridgford, who’s running as a self-described “normal person” rejecting party politics.
It is highly unusual for a current defense secretary to campaign for candidates. Previous secretaries rarely if ever attended events for candidates while defense secretary.
Last week, Hegseth traveled to South Carolina on an official visit for the renaming ceremony to change Joint Base Charleston to Joint Base Lindsey Graham. Graham’s sister, Sen. Darline Graham, attended the ceremony the day before the special Republican primary to replace her late brother on the ticket in Nov. She and Rep. Ralph Norman advanced to a run-off later this month, after no candidate cleared 50% of the vote.
Earlier this year, Hegseth also visited northern Kentucky to support Republican Ed Gallrein in a primary against Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican who has vocally opposed the war in Iran and aid to Israel. Gallrein won the primary. Massie is one of several incumbent Republican lawmakers that have lost a primary after President Trump backed a different candidate.
