Admiral fired by Hegseth now backs his impeachment as incoming House member

Nancy Lacore, a former three-star Navy admiral whom Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired last year , is joining the wave of lawmakers — both newly-elected and sitting — pushing for the Pentagon chief’s impeachment after winning South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District last week.

“Pete Hegseth is the most unqualified secretary that this nation has seen,” Lacore said in a Sunday interview with CBS News’s “Face the Nation.”

“He has caused significant damage to us as a country and put us at risk and really damaged the readiness of our entire military force,” she continued.

On Monday, outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) forced a House vote later in the week to remove Hegseth under eight articles of impeachment — accusing the defense secretary of abusing his powers with regards to several miliary operations throughout the second Trump administration, including the war in Iran.

Lacore, who’s set to take office in January, said she believes Hegseth’s impeachment “will be handled” before she’s sworn in on Capitol Hill.

“It’s all part of … the problem with the corruption and the lack of strategy, which is doing nothing but really driving up costs for people,” Lacore said of the Pentagon’s tactics in Iran, a war she called “extremely damaging to our country.”

Hegseth’s impeachment has been on Massie’s radar for a while, and the Kentucky Republican is pushing to see the process through in the lame-duck period before he leaves office.

After reports emerged surrounding his plans to call a vote to remove the defense secretary Massie wrote on social media that his impeachment resolution is “ a much gentler version of what’s coming when Dem’s control Congress. They’ll have hearings & trials.”

Hegseth responded to Massie’s comments in a video posted to social platform X, saying, “A disgruntled, defeated congressman, along with all his Democrat allies, has also dropped sham articles of impeachment against yours truly.”

In an interview with CBS News’s 60 Minutes , which aired Sunday, President Trump said he has confidence in Hegseth. Following Massie’s introduction of impeachment articles, the president in a Truth Social post , gave Hegseth an “A” plus for his work at the Pentagon and called Massie “a TOTAL LOSER.”