Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.
Join today
Already a member?
Log in
Hakeem Jeffries, the current House minority leader and likely next speaker, has made his party’s plans to impeach Pete Hegseth over the Iran war crystal clear.
Guesting on ABC News’ This Week Sunday, Jeffries was asked whether the Democrats might investigate the Defense Secretary next year after regaining the majorities in both chambers of Congress at last week’s midterms.
“I’m a hard yes on the Hegseth resolution,” Jeffries answered. “Pete Hegseth has got to go.”
The secretary has “abused his power, undermined our national security, and engineered this reckless and costly war of choice in Iran, which has skyrocketed prices on the American people and made the country less safe,” he argued.
Rebel Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie has said he plans to introduce a resolution to impeach Hegseth as early as Monday.
His opponents hope to remove him from office on the grounds he pressed ahead with the Operation Epic Fury airstrikes that began on February 28 without first seeking congressional approval, as required under the War Powers Resolution of 1973.
It has been suggested that Democrats may use their newfound power on Capitol Hill to hold allies of President Donald Trump to account like Hegseth or Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, rather than attempting to impeach Trump again for a historic third time. Some consider taking the latter path too divisive and counterproductive to be worthwhile.
Even before the midterms, it was reported that Democrats had already begun to sound out potential Pentagon whistleblowers prepared to “spill their guts” on Hegseth should they decide to launch a congressional investigation.
They were also said to be readying subpoenas for the secretary and his closest advisers, including his top aide Ricky Buria and wife Jen Hegseth.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell responded to the threat of impeachment by telling The Independent: “At the war department, we are solely focused on peace through strength and ensuring our warfighters have everything they need to be successful. We are proud to serve our warriors.”
It had been suggested that Hegseth could try to avoid being impeached by angling for Marsha Blackburn’s old Tennessee Senate seat, now vacant since she won her race to become the Volunteer State’s next governor last Tuesday, although that is reportedly no longer an option.
Another escape route would be getting fired by Trump but the president has so far continued to back him, despite conceding that the war may have played a significant part in turning voters away from Republican candidates.
The president said as much in an interview with 60 Minutes on CBS News Sunday night during which he also hinted at more turnover to come amongst his top team after Stephen Miller replaced Susie Wiles as his chief of staff Friday.
Asked about Hegseth’s future, Trump told interviewer Ross Douthat: “They want to impeach him. Very unfair. We had two wars, we won both. We won Venezuela, we won Iran.”
The secretary himself also came out fighting last week, recording a six minute video outside of the Department of Defense in which he advised the military to “ignore the noise” and branded the prospect of a probe into his tenure a “sham” and “political theater.”
“It’s all about the politics of personal destruction,” he declared. “Didn’t work against President Trump and it won’t work with me.”
