Massie Tells Hegseth to Resign or Face Impeachment, but Trump Stands by Him
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is suddenly the Republican Party’s most convenient target after Tuesday’s midterm wipeout, and one GOP congressman wants a vote on removing him within days.
Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky gave Hegseth an ultimatum Wednesday night, the Washington Examiner reported: resign, or face articles of impeachment when the House returns next week.
“There is one contingency in which I won’t reintroduce the articles of impeachment: Hegseth resigns,” Massie wrote on X, according to the Examiner, after telling CNN he would bring the measure forward.
The threat carries weight. Multiple GOP sources told CNN they expect an impeachment vote to pass, and several Republicans privately argued that Hegseth oversold how quickly and easily the United States could win the Iran war.
Republicans Look for a Fall Guy
The war has become the GOP’s preferred explanation for the losses. “The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,” Vice President JD Vance wrote on X Wednesday morning.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, whose state flipped its governor’s mansion and a Senate seat, struck a similar note. “The Iran war has dragged on too long,” Cruz said. “It should have been brief, decisive, and over.”
Outgoing Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who voted to confirm Hegseth but became one of his sharpest critics, told CBS News the defense secretary faces a “reckoning,” Military.com reported.
Massie, who lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger, blamed more than the war. “You don’t screw up this badly an election with just one issue,” he told CNN. “It was completely avoidable if they’d just broken out of the cultish following of Donald Trump.”
President Donald Trump publicly defended both the war and his Pentagon chief Wednesday, saying Hegseth was “doing a very good job,” CNN reported. “If I had it to do again, I’d have to do it again,” Trump said of the decision to strike Iran.
Privately, the picture is murkier. Trump has told some allies in recent days that he is considering replacing Hegseth, according to two people familiar with the discussions, NBC News reported.
One administration official was blunter. “I think he probably knows he’s dead but would like an exit sufficiently dramatic that it gives him a launching pad to run for POTUS,” the official told CNN.
The Pentagon is not conceding anything. Chief spokesman Sean Parnell said Hegseth “will not back down or be deterred by politicians seeking to score partisan points or launch phony investigations where no wrongdoing exists,” Military.com reported.
“Secretary Hegseth is 100% committed to leading the department until the end of President Trump’s term in office,” Parnell added.
A person close to Hegseth told CNN he expects to keep his job, is prepared to fight impeachment and is ready to defend every Pentagon decision in what are likely to be contentious hearings once Democrats take over Congress in January.
Even if the House impeaches Hegseth in the lame-duck session, removal would still require a two-thirds Senate vote. The more immediate question is whether Trump decides the fight is worth having.
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