After the House of Representatives rejected a resolution to advance articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his role in the Iran war, lawmakers remain divided over whether he should be held accountable.
After voters signaled last week that the war is unpopular, Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) renewed his push to impeach Hegseth as members returned to Congress for the final weeks of the session with a Republican majority.
Rep. Massie argues that Hegseth waged war against Iran without congressional authorization, violating the Constitution and rule of law. In a press conference this week, the Kentucky Republican, known for going against President Donald Trump and his administration, doubled down on his allegations.
“I’m being polite here,” Rep. Massie said.
What Would Impeachment Mean?
Impeachment, Rep. Massie said, is just “firing someone.” There would be no jail time, no fines, no hearings, but with a Democratic majority looming, Rep. Massie said House Democrats would be “vicious.”
“I hope for his sake it [impeachment] does work,” he said. “Because the Democrats are going to bring people in here who have served under him and with him, give them protection, they’ll be able to say what he’s actually done.”
But the impeachment would also have to pass the Senate in order to convict Hegseth and remove him from office.
On a recent episode of his podcast, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) weighed in on the House debate and said he thinks Hegseth will either resign voluntarily of “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,” Sen. Cruz said. “Because on the face of it, the votes are there.”
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), who is poised to chair the House Foreign Affairs Committee next Congress, said Hegseth has a record of mismanagement and politicizing the military. He pointed to the war in Iran, the changing of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, the repeated firings of military leaders, and the “lowest morale we’ve seen” among servicemembers.
“Those kinds of things is not who we want to be representative of us in the United States defense,” Rep. Meeks said.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) added that impeaching Hegseth is what voters want, based on how people feel about affordability and the war in Iran. Impeaching Hegseth will show Americans that Congress is listening, he said.
“That will be a signal that we are actually listening to the American people,” Rep. Khanna said.
