Massie Starts The Clock On Hegseth's Impeachment - Here's How Many Republicans He Needs
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the House floor Monday afternoon, and because the resolution is privileged, the House has to take it up within two legislative days, Fox News reported, which would put the vote no later than Wednesday.
According to AP, Massie is confident that three Republicans will join every Democrat to pass it. Passage takes a simple majority, and no Democrat appears likely to oppose it.
The articles cover the war in Iran, the strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean, U.S. strikes against Yemen and the extradition of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. A further article accuses Hegseth of suppressing free speech by retaliating against Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) over a video urging troops to resist "unlawful orders."
Massie first filed the 34-page resolution in September and read it aloud on the floor for more than 67 minutes, until Speaker Mike Johnson canceled the remaining votes before the midterm recess. Massie said then that the articles would expire and he would have to refile them when Congress returned. He lost his own primary this summer after President Donald Trump endorsed his opponent, and he leaves Congress in January.
Several House Republicans told Fox News Digital that Hegseth could very well be impeached (none was named), with absences from Republicans who lost their elections and sour sentiment about his conduct possibly enough to tip it. Several Republicans have blamed the party's midterm losses on the Iran war, and Trump acknowledged last week that the war contributed to them.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who is retiring, told ABC News, "I will weigh the debate and make a decision," adding that "the secretary has made some bad mistakes." House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) declined to back the effort. On the other side, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Sunday on ABC's "This Week" that he is "a hard yes", as we reported.
Hegseth said Monday, "We're not worried about that," and announced a Pentagon press conference for Tuesday. In a video posted last Thursday, he called the filing "sham articles of impeachment," saying Democrats had "tried against President Trump twice," according to ABC News. Trump said Thursday that he has "every intention to keep" Hegseth, called Massie "a very bad guy" and said he is "very destructive."
Leaders can move to table the resolution, which also needs only a simple majority, or send it to committee. Either would end it without a vote on the merits, Fox said, and it was not clear Monday which way Johnson would go.
Conviction would need two-thirds of the Senate, which the AP called unlikely to happen even if the House impeaches. The last Cabinet secretary the House impeached was Biden's Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and the Democratic-led Senate dropped that case without a trial.