Pete Hegseth strikes defiant tone in face of impeachment threat

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday dismissed a renewed effort in the House to bring articles of impeachment against him as early as next week. In a video on social media, Hegseth said, “A disgruntled, defeated congressman, along with all his Democrat allies, has also dropped sham articles of impeachment against yours truly, just like they tried against President Trump twice.” Hegseth was referring to Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who said Wednesday that he plans to reintroduce articles of impeachment when the House is back in session. Lawmakers are scheduled to return to Washington on Monday. “It’s all about the politics of personal destruction,” Hegseth added. “Didn’t work against President Trump, and it won’t work with me. You can rest assured of that.” In the more-than-five-minute video, Hegseth only briefly touched on the Iran war — a driving force behind the effort to impeach him, as well as GOP losses in this week’s midterm elections. Massie, who lost his GOP primary after he crossed Trump, urged Trump on Thursday to replace Hegseth while he still has a GOP majority in the Senate. “My Hegseth impeachment resolution is a much gentler version of what’s coming when Dem’s control Congress. They’ll have hearings & trials,” he said on X. “There is one contingency in which I won’t reintroduce the articles of impeachment: Hegseth resigns,” Massie wrote Wednesday. Numerous Democrats have indicated a desire to oust Hegseth since their midterm election wins, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who is poised to be the next speaker. Trump said Wednesday that he is not planning to replace Hegseth, and he said Thursday that Hegseth “has done a fantastic job” and “probably has opposition” over the actions he has taken, including purging military leadership. Trump has told some allies he is considering replacing Hegseth, asking them who they think should succeed him, two people familiar with discussions told NBC News this week. He has previously insisted that he was not considering dismissing department heads just days before they were shown the door. Massie tried to force a vote on impeaching Hegseth in September, but his efforts were stunted when House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sent the House home early. He would need several Republicans to join all Democrats in supporting the impeachment measure for it to succeed. The House has impeached only two Cabinet officials in history — former President Joe Biden’s homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, in a partisan vote, and William Belknap, the secretary of war in the 1870s. No Cabinet members have ever been convicted by the Senate.