Can Defense Department employees run for political office? No, because the Defense Department prohibits civilian employees from running for political office under the Hatch Act, a

The Comedy Central series noted the recent rumblings that Hegseth is considering stepping down from his role in the Trump administration to run for Governor of Tennessee next year. "Wow, Pete! What an awesome idea.

Is Pete Hegseth planning to leave Pentagon? The defense secretary, who is facing string of controversies, has talked privately about running a campaign in Tennessee, a report claimed. Pentagon has reacted to the rumours and argued that the defense secretary’s focus ‘remains solely on serving under President Donald Trump' and called the report 'fake'.