Hegseth’s ‘personal’ trip to Iowa sparks speculation he’s eyeing Trump’s office: report

NewsWorldAmericasUS politicsHegseth’s ‘personal’ trip to Iowa sparks speculation he’s eyeing Trump’s office: reportVulnerable Republicans call in the cavalry, but Trump’s ‘War’ chief is reportedly eyeing his own political futureJohn Bowden in Washington, D.C. Tuesday 18 August 2026 19:15 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b3035168","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/hegseth-iowa-campaign-midterms-2028-b3035168.html","title":"Hegseth’s trip to Iowa sparks speculation he’s eyeing a run for president: report"}}CloseHegseth says he is sweating like a 'son of a b****' because he is a 'Norwegian from Minnesota'Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailGet our free Inside Washington emailEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"pianoFieldName":"receiveInsideWashingtonNews","regTitle":"Inside Washington","subscriptionGroup":"inside_washington","subscriptionGroupId":"af764e04-87eb-45e6-a84b-a7455ba70a1e","type":"inside_washington","pathPrefix":"/news/world/americas/us-politics","associatedAuthors":["Eric Garcia","John Bowden"],"title":"Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox","mobileTitle":"Get our free Inside Washington email","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/insideWashington1_1.png","label":"I would like to receive morning headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts by email","newsletterKey":"receiveInsideWashington","regSourceSection":"US politics","reg...