Democratic Representative-elect Nancy Lacore, the retired Navy admiral fired by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last year, said there were “probably plenty” when asked about impeachable offenses involving the Pentagon chief and predicted the issue would be resolved before she takes office. Lacore, who flipped South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District in last week’s midterm elections after making Hegseth’s leadership of the Pentagon an issue in her campaign, was asked about the growing impeachment effort during an interview with CBS News’ Face the Nation on Sunday. Her comments came as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries backed a Republican-led effort to impeach Hegseth, saying Sunday that he was a “hard yes” on a forthcoming resolution from Republican Representative Thomas Massie and declaring that the defense secretary “has got to go.” Newsweek reached out to Lacore, Massie, the Pentagon and the White House for comment Sunday.
Asked by Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan what she believed would constitute an impeachable offense by Hegseth, Lacore replied: “Yeah, I mean, I think there’s probably plenty, and I do believe that this will be handled before I get there.” Lacore is set to take office when the new Congress convenes in January. Elaborating, Lacore referenced the war in Iran and “some of the things that we saw going on down off Venezuela,” but did not specify which actions she believed could warrant impeachment. She said the broader problem involved “corruption and the lack of strategy.” Earlier in the interview, Lacore offered an even more sweeping assessment of the defense secretary.
Hegseth removed her as chief of the Navy Reserve in August 2025, abruptly ending her 35-year military career. Lacore, a retired three-star vice admiral who had overseen approximately 60,000 Navy Reserve sailors, said Sunday that she still does not know why she was removed. Lacore subsequently ran as a Democrat in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, a longtime Republican-held seat that President Donald Trump carried by 13 percentage points in 2024.
She defeated Republican Jenny Costa Honeycutt after campaigning in part on her military experience and criticism of Hegseth’s stewardship of the Pentagon. Honeycutt conceded the race last week. Lacore had previously taken a more cautious approach when asked about Hegseth’s possible impeachment.
Speaking to reporters after the election, she said she would “certainly look at that if that’s what comes up,” but emphasized that her priority was delivering on affordability issues for voters. The issue has become more immediate as Massie prepares to revive his effort to impeach Hegseth. Massie previously introduced an eight-article impeachment resolution against the defense secretary in September.
The resolution included allegations involving the War Powers Resolution, unauthorized military action and other U.S. military operations. Massie has also specifically criticized Hegseth’s firing of senior military officers. In a post on X Friday, he accused the defense secretary of displaying “incompetence” and cited episodes “from firing our top generals to texting war plans to reporters.” Massie has said he would not pursue impeachment if Hegseth resigns.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
