WASHINGTON — Republicans on Tuesday rejected an effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his handling of the war in Iran, along with other military actions.
The vote was 211-204 to send the impeachment resolution to committee, where it will stay until January, when Democrats take over in the new Congress.
The impeachment articles were brought by GOP Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a critic of Hegseth and President Donald Trump. Massie authored eight articles against Hegseth, accusing him of “waging the Iran war despite no declaration of war, statutory authorization, attack on the United States, or imminent threat.”
Hegseth “has violated the norms of war, and it’s to the disadvantage and the dishonor of our country, and to the danger of our soldiers in future conflicts,” said Massie.
“Somebody’s got to put their foot down and say, ‘Are we going to follow the laws that are on the books? Are we going to follow the Constitution?’” he continued. “And the best way to do that is to have an impeachment against Pete Hegseth.”
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who is expected to be the new House Speaker in January, said Democrats will “run Hegseth out of town” when Democrats take over in the new year.
Hegseth is safe for now, and Trump said on Monday that he is standing by his defense secretary.
“It’s a farce, and it’s a stunt, and everybody knows it,” Hegseth said Tuesday morning of efforts to impeach him.
He argued that all of the military actions were “lawful” and called the impeachment a slap in the face to the men and women carrying out those missions. He also compared himself to Trump, who was impeached twice during his first term.
“If standing with President Trump puts me in that company, I’ll take that company every day of the week,” Hegseth said.
Trump posted his support for the defense secretary on Truth Social, saying he “gets an ‘A’ PLUS, PLUS, PLUS for his defense and slammed Massie as a “TOTAL LOSER!”
