Representative Thomas Massie, who is leaving Congress after losing his Republican primary earlier this year, has reintroduced eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, with a House vote expected as early as this week. President Donald Trump publicly defended his Pentagon chief on Monday, while Massie warned that Hegseth could face even greater scrutiny under a Democratic-controlled Congress. During the interview, Massie said he believed there was a “high probability” Hegseth would not remain in his position through the end of the year.
The impeachment effort could be among Massie's final major actions in Congress. The Kentucky Republican lost the primary to Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein and will not return for the next Congress. As for what comes next, Massie said he is weighing several possibilities but has not made a decision.
I found 10 doors that have opened, and my hardest problem is deciding what to do next,” he said at a Monday news conference. Newsweek has reached out to Massie for further comment. Massie reintroduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth on Monday, accusing the defense secretary of violating laws and the Constitution through the Trump administration's military operations.
Three of the articles accuse Hegseth of violating the War Powers Resolution through the administration's military campaign against Iran. Other articles accuse him of dismantling safeguards intended to minimize civilian casualties, overseeing extrajudicial killings during strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, and using Pentagon authority to retaliate against Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona over constitutionally protected speech. The resolution also addresses U.S. military operations in Yemen and the operation to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Hegseth has rejected the impeachment push, calling the articles a “sham" and likening the effort to previous ones against Trump. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell previously told Newsweek that the secretary was “100% committed” to leading the department until the end of Trump's term in office. Massie has argued that Hegseth had an independent responsibility to refuse unlawful orders.
Massie's resolution could receive a House vote as soon as Wednesday, although the timing depends on how Republican leadership handles the measure. Massie has urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to allow the full House to debate and vote on the impeachment charges rather than dismissing the resolution or sending it to committee, which Massie argues could effectively kill the effort. Johnson has opposed the push, saying that impeachment “in the middle of hostilities abroad would be a terrible, terrible look, a terrible thing for our allies and our enemies to see that,” Johnson said.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
