Mike Johnson blasts Massie’s ‘shameful’ push to oust Hegseth

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Tuesday criticized Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-Ky.) push to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The House is set to hold a procedural vote Tuesday evening on the eight articles of impeachment the Kentucky lawmaker introduced the previous day.

Johnson called the effort to oust Hegseth “shameful” and accused Massie of using this measure as a “political gambit for attention,” in comments to reporters on Capitol Hill.

“I expect that we’re going to defeat that, one way or the other, and we’ll get on with the business,” Johnson told reporters.

“The idea that you would impeach the secretary of War at a time of international conflict sends a terrible message to our enemies and our allies, and we are not going to play that game,” he continued, using the Trump administration’s preferred name for the Department of Defense. “You don’t impeach a Cabinet secretary lightly.”

Additionally, the Speaker commended Hegseth for his response to the impeachment effort in a Tuesday morning press conference, saying the Defense secretary did an “extraordinary job.”

In a 30-minute briefing at the Pentagon, Hegseth cast Massie as a “single rogue legislator” who was motivated by “personal animus for the president.”

“It puts a target on the backs of American warriors, by signaling that Congress will undermine their missions in real time,” Hegseth said. “This is not patriotism; this is sabotage.”

Massie accused Hegseth of violating the Constitution and federal laws with the U.S. military operations in Iran and elsewhere.

It is unclear whether the measure will garner enough Republican support to pass the House. Massie told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins in a Monday evening interview he was hoping to gain support from retiring GOP lawmakers and those who just barely secured their reelection last week.

President Trump has stood by his Defense secretary, rating his press conference performance on Tuesday morning an “‘A’ PLUS, PLUS, PLUS” in a Truth Social post . Trump also ripped Massie as a “disgruntled, angry, defeated, former Congressman.”