特朗普总统周三表示，他并未考虑替换国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯，但预测如果这位五角大楼负责人填补参议员马莎·布莱克本（共和党-田纳西州）的空缺，将会“非常受欢迎”。
President Trump said on Wednesday that he is not considering replacing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth but predicted the Pentagon chief would be “very popular” if he filled Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s (R-Tenn.) seat.
“不，我认为他在做一份非常出色的工作，”当被问及在共和党周二中期选举惨败后是否考虑替换赫格塞斯时，总统说道，民主党在中期选举中夺得了众议院、参议院和多个州长职位。
“No, I think he’s doing a very good job,” the president said when asked if he is considering replacing Hegseth following the Republican party’s poor showing during Tuesday’s midterms, where Democrats took the House, the Senate and multiple governors’ mansions.
哥伦比亚广播公司新闻周三报道称，特朗普在中期选举后一直在询问顾问和盟友，赫格塞斯是否应该留任。
CBS News reported on Wednesday that Trump has been asking advisers and allies if Hegseth should stay in the post following the midterms.
《国会山报》此前报道，这位前陆军国民警卫队少校对田纳西州的空缺参议员席位感兴趣，并一直在幕后为该职位开展竞选活动。
Hegseth, a former Army National Guard Major, is interested in the open Tennessee Senate seat and has been campaigning behind the scenes for the post, The Hill previously reported.
“我认为他在做一份非常出色的工作，而且我实际上认为如果他那样做会非常受欢迎。但我完全没听说过这事，”特朗普周三在被问及是否希望国防部长填补布莱克本的席位时说道。一些政治观察人士同意，赫格塞斯将是这场竞选中的重量级人物。
“I think he’s doing a very good job, and I actually think he’d be very popular if he did that. But I haven’t heard that at all,” Trump said on Wednesday when asked if he would want the defense secretary to fill Blackburn’s seat. Some political observers agree that Hegseth would be a heavyweight in the race.
田纳西州共和党操盘手蒙蒂·兰克福德此前表示：“我当然认为皮特·赫格塞斯将是房间里分量最重的那个人。我是说，身为战争部长，加上他所做的一切，而且我有信心他会获得总统的背书，我想应该是这样。” 《国会山报》报道称，即使赫格塞斯未被弹劾，五角大楼内部也在议论他能在中期选举后撑多久，而渴望在重夺多数席位后推动弹劾的众议院民主党人对此更是跃跃欲试。
“I certainly think Pete Hegseth is going to be the guy that is going to have the most weight in the room,” Tennessee GOP operative Monty Lankford said previously. “I mean, being the Secretary of War and having done what he’s done, and I’m confident [he would be] getting the endorsement of the president, I would think.”
布莱克本周二晚击败民主党人杰里·格林，成为田纳西州首位女州长。
Questions are swirling inside the Pentagon over how long Hegseth lasts after the midterms even if he is not impeached, something that House Democrats are eager to pursue once they regain the majority, The Hill reported.
其他田纳西州政客也对该参议员席位感兴趣，该席位任期至2031年初结束。曾为布莱克本助选的众议员蒂姆·伯切特（Tim Burchett，共和党-田纳西州）在考虑人选之列，诺克斯县前县长格伦·雅各布斯（Glenn Jacobs）和CoreCivic公司前首席执行官达蒙·海宁格（Damon Hininger）也是如此。“我将感到荣幸能获得该席位，”刚在田纳西州第3国会选区连任成功的众议员查克·弗莱施曼（Chuck Fleischmann，共和党-田纳西州）近日在接受《田纳西瞭望报》（Tennessee Lookout）采访时表示。
Blackburn beat Democrat Jerri Green Tuesday night, becoming Tennessee’s first female governor. Other Tennessee politicians are interested in the Senate seat, which expires in early 2031. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), who has campaigned for Blackburn, is in the mix, along with Glenn Jacobs, the former mayor of Knox County and former CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger“I will be honored to have that,” Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), who won his Tennessee’s 3rd Congressional District reelection bid, said in a recent interview with Tennessee Lookout.