House braces for Hegseth impeachment vote after GOP defeat

House Republican leaders are bracing for enough GOP defections to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth when the measure comes to a vote this week. Republicans who were defeated in Tuesday’s election-night bloodbath have little left to lose and could be more willing to back impeaching Hegseth, whose overall support has eroded since the start of the Iran war.yalibnan.com+1

Hegseth doesn’t have “a lot of love” on Capitol Hill, retiring Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) Said. Bacon said he’s undecided on this week’s vote. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) is planning to force a vote on his resolution to impeach Hegseth for allegedly defying Congress and illegally continuing the U.S. war in Iran.

GOP defections expected

Republican leaders avoided the measure before Election Day after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) canceled votes and sent lawmakers home early. Johnson has denied his decision to send members home was related to the impeachment vote, but it would have been a politically difficult vote for Republicans just weeks before the midterms. The political calculus has now shifted dramatically since Tuesday, with the GOP’s crushing defeat fueling anger within the conference and increasing the number of Republicans willing to back impeachment.

The blame game is already in full swing among House Republicans, with the Iran war emerging as a top target of their ire. “Iran, Iran, Iran … We should have never done the war before the midterms,” a GOP lawmaker said. Hegseth is the face of the war for many on Capitol Hill, putting him in the crosshairs of frustrated Republicans.

Another GOP lawmaker said that Hegseth’s tone and rhetoric have been “very damaging to our ability to get the facts out to the American people on why the strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities, and the additional military actions, were necessary.” Hegseth is also on “thin ice” with the Trump administration, with some officials pushing for his ouster, according to a report.

Eight articles of impeachment

Trump defended Hegseth on Wednesday, telling reporters he has every intention to “keep him” in his post. If Hegseth is still around come January, the new Democratic majority will have the power to pursue investigations and impeachment proceedings. Hegseth is fighting back, calling the impeachment effort a “sham” led by a “disgruntled, defeated congressman” in a video posted on X Thursday.

Massie, who lost his primary to a Trump-backed opponent, fired back, urging Trump to replace Hegseth while Republicans still control the Senate. “There is one contingency in which I won’t reintroduce the articles of impeachment: Hegseth resigns,” Massie wrote. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in $1: “Secretary Hegseth will not back down or be deterred by politicians seeking to score partisan points or launch phony investigations where no wrongdoing exists.”

The Pentagon said it had followed the law and that Hegseth would not be deterred by “phony investigations.” The top Democrat widely expected to be the next House Speaker, Hakeem Jeffries, said he is “a hard yes” for impeaching Hegseth. “Pete Hegseth has got to go,” Jeffries said on Sunday.theguardian.com

Senate removal threshold

Massie’s resolution contains eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth, alleging that he made war on Iran without the required congressional authorisation under the War Powers Resolution of 1973. With more midterm races still to be called, Democrats have a 254-seat majority in the House, well beyond the 218 threshold needed to pass articles of impeachment. But they will fall well short of the two-thirds Senate majority required to remove an official from office.

Even if the House impeaches Hegseth, removing him from office would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate, a threshold that would be difficult to achieve, even when Democrats take control of the chamber in January. Jeffries has vowed that the newly empowered Democrats will serve as a check and balance on the Trump administration. But he said after the midterms results that House Democrats were not currently focused on impeaching President Trump, who was impeached twice during his first term.

A former senior Pentagon official pointed directly to the defense department’s role in the conflict, saying Wednesday that the war “has been primarily a Department of War-led effort because you chose to take military action to resolve a foreign policy matter.” “If the president is serious about anyone taking responsibility for it, it’s Pete Hegseth,” one Republican close to the White House added.

Despite the criticism, Trump has continued to stand behind Hegseth. When reporters asked on Wednesday whether he was considering replacing Hegseth, the president dismissed the possibility. “No, I think he’s doing a very good job,” Trump said. Hegseth, meanwhile, pushed back against the impeachment effort, accusing his political opponents of pursuing a politically motivated campaign against him.