The defense secretary has talked privately about running a campaign in Tennessee, sources told NBC News. The Pentagon said Hegseth’s “focus remains solely on serving under” Trump.

Civilian employees of the Defense Department are not allowed to run for office, so Hegseth would have to resign before entering any race. The Pentagon pushed back hard at the report, which included another source saying Hegseth indicated that any exit was “off the table.

Pete Hegseth is obviously the defense secretary, but there's reason to wonder whether he's calling all the shots at the Pentagon.