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

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly has had “serious” discussions about running for governor in Tennessee, and he would have to surrender his Cabinet gig to do so.

The Pentagon’s chief spokesman Sean Parnell denied that Hegseth has ambitions of political office, and said the former Fox News host’s focus “remains solely on serving under President Trump.” Parnell said the sources are either “imaginary” or the news station was “getting punked.”