Massie Impeachment Push
Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie introduced eight articles of impeachment against US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, setting up a vote in the House of Representatives. rte.ie reported that the Republican-controlled House could hold the vote as early as Wednesday.
Mr. Massie used a special congressional procedure to force the House to consider the resolution within two legislative days. rte.ie reported that the articles accuse Mr. Hegseth of violating the 1973 War Powers Resolution and alleging misconduct in Yemen and Venezuela.
Mr. Massie previously filed a resolution to impeach Mr. In a post on the social platform X on Wednesday night, Mr. Massie said, There is one contingency in which I won’t reintroduce the articles of impeachment: Hegseth resigns.
There is one contingency in which I won’t reintroduce the articles of impeachment: Hegseth resigns. https://t.co/fRSAIizUH8
Jeffries Backs Impeachment
Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries endorsed the impeachment resolution during an interview on ABC News. NBC News reported that Mr. Jeffries stated he was a hard yes on the measure.
Asked in an interview on ABC’s “This Week” whether he would support Rep. Thomas Massie in his efforts to impeach Mr. Hegseth, Mr. Jeffries confirmed he supported the push, and Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., who also introduced a resolution to impeach Mr. Hegseth in April, shared Mr. Jeffries’ comments Sunday on social media, stating that Mr. Hegseth must be held accountable
and adding, Let’s get this to the floor and voted on this week,
while Mr. Jeffries noted that House Democrats would have that conversation Tuesday morning
regarding whether all other House Democrats would support the impeachment resolution.
“The so-called secretary of defence has abused his power, undermined our national security and engineered this reckless and costly war of choice in Iran,” Mr. Jeffries told ABC News, as reported by rte.ie. He added that Mr. Hegseth has made the country less safe and skyrocketed fuel prices for Americans. Mr. Jeffries also stated, Pete Hegseth has got to go.
In April, I filed formal Articles of Impeachment against Pete Hegseth for stunning incompetence, recklessness, and corruption. Over a dozen colleagues joined me then and, today, even more members are ready to say: Hegseth must be held accountable. Let’s get this to the floor and… https://t.co/JDqyiAFxnL
Political Repercussions
Republicans maintain control of Congress until newly elected politicians take office on January 3. rte.ie noted that the overwhelming defeat weakened party discipline and could lead some outgoing Republicans to skip votes, making it easier for the impeachment measure to pass.
Pentagon Pushback
Mr. Hegseth dismissed the impeachment effort as a sham and labeled Mr. Massie a disgruntled, defeated congressman in a social media video. rte.ie reported that the Pentagon rejected the accusations and scheduled a rare press briefing for Thursday.
In the video, Mr. Hegseth stated, It’s all about the politics of personal destruction,
and added, Didn’t work against President Trump, and it won’t work with me. You can rest assured of that.
President Trump has publicly stood by his defense chief. rte.ie reported that Mr. Trump stated last week that he has every intention to keep Mr. Hegseth in his role.
Mr. Trump also publicly denied that he plans to replace Mr. Hegseth, telling reporters last week that he was doing a very good job.
Additionally, Mr. Hegseth to fill Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s (R-Tenn.) seat, President Trump said he would be very popular if he did that. But I haven’t heard that at all.
Congressional Dynamics
If the House passes the impeachment articles by a simple majority, the measure moves to the Senate for a trial. rte.ie reported that conviction and removal require a two-thirds majority in the Senate, which remains a high hurdle even after Democrats take control of the chamber.
If Trump’s going to replace appointees like Hegseth, he should do it while he can still get the replacements confirmed in the Senate. Also, my Hegseth impeachment resolution is a much gentler version of what’s coming when Dem’s control Congress. They’ll have hearings & trials. https://t.co/7p3qlqCugw
Mr. Massie warned on CNN that his current resolution is a much gentler version of what Democrats might pursue when they control Congress. The Hill reported that Mr. Massie stated Democrats would hold formal hearings and trials if he did not force a vote now.
In a Thursday morning post, Mr. Massie stated that his impeachment resolution is a much gentler version of what’s coming when Dem’s control Congress,
adding that They’ll have hearings & trials,
and further stating that if the president is going to replace appointees like Hegseth, he should do it while he can still get the replacements confirmed in the Senate.
More on Pete Hegseth
NEW: The Hegseth impeachment vote could acutally be 8 distinct roll call votes, one for each article. w/ @marksatter @connorobrienNH @Reporter_Mia https://t.co/ol9hElE50m
The House of Representatives is barreling toward a vote on whether to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has vowed to address the effort during a rare press conference on Tuesday morning. W @Kubota_Yoko https://t.co/3WwSBPeZs0
COLLINS: Will you stand by Pete Hegseth if he's impeached? TRUMP: Yeah, I'll stand by him. He won two wars. Massie is a lower. Just like you're a loser at CNN. pic.twitter.com/U2ivXE3Izw
Massie: "This is why I feel sorry somewhat for the lawyers at the WH. They come up with this tortured language so that maybe Hegseth won't get impeached, and then the president goes out and uses all the terms the lawyers told him not to do. He commits candor. He said this is a… pic.twitter.com/e25c0f7lvh”
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