Ted Cruz

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The Texas Republican made his prediction ahead of Tuesday’s failed effort to impeach Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) issued a dire prediction Monday for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth following last week’s midterm elections, which saw the Democratic Party win back both the House and Senate — and open a path to potential congressional investigations.

Cruz teased Monday on his “Verdict” podcast that “one of two things is going to happen.”

The Republican lawmaker predicted, “Either Hegseth is going to step down, [meaning] either he will resign voluntarily, or [President Donald] Trump will fire him. Or, if that does not happen, I think it is extremely likely, if not certain, that the House will impeach him.”

While Cruz had accurately noted that “it only takes a majority” to impeach Hegseth and that the Democratic votes “are there” after the midterms sweep, the House on Tuesday voted 211-204 to refer the resolution to committee — effectively shelving the effort until January.

House Democrats appeared all but ready to help pass the impeachment resolution, which was composed of eight articles introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), with their official social media account on X declaring Tuesday afternoon, “PETE HEGSETH OUT NOW.”

When the time actually came, however, 11 House Democrats missed the vote.

They are Reps. Julia Brownley (Calif.), Lou Correa (Calif.), Laura Gillen (N.Y.), Steven Horsford (Nev.), Jonathan Jackson (Ill.), Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), Brittany Pettersen (Colo.), Melanie Stansbury (N.M.), Haley Stevens (Mich.), Marilyn Strickland (Wash.) and Frederica Wilson (Fla.).

Some of them cited traffic issues outside the Capitol as reasons for missing the vote, purporting they were stuck behind the police escort of a bus. Others cited personal matters or medical procedures — while a spokesperson for Pelosi said she was attending a Veterans Day event.

Trump naturally celebrated the outcome on social media. Several Democrats condemned the absences of their colleagues as inexcusable, and, though the party can renew impeachment efforts in January, Cruz’s “extremely likely” wager Monday has fallen flat for now.

He believes Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who is expected to become Senate majority leader in January, will double down if Hegseth remains in his position and the House successfully votes for his impeachment again, which would allow the Senate to conduct a trial.

“I expect, if Schumer has the option of conducting a trial, I would anticipate that he would conduct an extended trial, that he would spend real time — weeks, if not months — using the trial to prosecute, number one, their opposition to the Iran war,” Cruz said Monday.

The procedural defeat Tuesday ultimately still leaves Cruz’s prediction open to all three potential outcomes, as Democrats could renew impeachment efforts in January, Trump can still fire Hegseth, and Hegseth can still voluntarily resign.

Hegseth called the impeachment effort “a farce” and “a stunt” ahead of the vote, however, and rejected accusations that some U.S. military operations under his watch were illegal — which appears to make the prospect of his own willing resignation rather slim for now.

Whether the president will fire Hegseth remains to be seen, as the former Fox News host certainly appears to be doing Trump’s bidding in the war — but also holds a net approval rating of -29 percentage points in an aggregate of numerous polls highlighted Sunday on CNN.

In his social media celebration Tuesday, Trump called Hegseth a “Great American Patriot.”