MS NOW’s Jonathan Lemire thinks President Donald Trump may soon need one of his high-profile officials to pay the price for his Iran war, which he launched in February and shows no sign of ending following the collapse of the ceasefire.

And that person could be Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Lemire suggested on Tuesday’s episode of “Morning Joe.”

Hegseth “still, I am told, is liked by the president,” said Lemire, as Trump comes under increasing pressure from his own party to conclude the conflict ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

At least 18 U.S. service members have died so far.

But the former Fox News personality “does not have that many fans in the administration otherwise,” he added, noting it’s “been the case from the very beginning, from even the transition when he wasn’t very truthful with the vetting teams about some of the issues in his past.”

Trump is “still on board” with Hegseth right now, said Lemire, before adding, “but I am told that if this continues to bog down, whether it’s a low-level conflict or a high-intensity resumption of war, for months, Trump will eventually look for a fall guy, and it’s hard to imagine it being anyone other than Pete Hegseth.”

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