From TIME · Tiago Ventura · · 2m
Hegseth defies impeachment as Republicans split over Iran war
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces a Republican-led impeachment push over military operations in Iran and Venezuela, while President Trump backs him and the party divides over the war's electoral impact.
In brief
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces a Republican-led impeachment push over military operations in Iran and Venezuela, while President Trump backs him and the party divides over the war's electoral impact. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie is preparing to reintroduce eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary…
Hegseth dismisses impeachment threat
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters Monday he is not worried about Republican-led impeachment efforts against him, saying the military operations in question were historic accomplishments.
“we're not worried about that”
Eight articles of impeachment prepared
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky is preparing to reintroduce a privileged impeachment resolution against Hegseth with eight articles accusing him of violating the War Powers Resolution of 1973.
Charges include Iran war and Maduro capture
The articles accuse Hegseth of lacking congressional oversight on the Iran war, ignoring laws minimizing civilian casualties, and kidnapping Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in January.
Trump doubles down on support
President Donald Trump praised Hegseth Sunday, saying he is guilty of basically winning two wars and calling impeachment efforts very unfair during a CBS sixty Minutes interview.
“He's guilty of two things: basically winning two wars”
Massie argues the legal question matters
Massie said some House members agree the wars were effective but the question is whether Hegseth committed impeachable acts. He argued the answer is yes regardless of military success.
“That's not the question though. The question is whether he committed impeachable acts, and the answer is yes”
Democrats back the impeachment effort
House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, expected to be the next Speaker, said he is a hard yes on the Hegseth resolution. Rep. Adam Smith and Rep. Ro Khanna of California have also pledged support.
“I'm a hard 'yes' on the Hegseth resolution”
Iran war cost and voter impact
The Iran war is estimated to have cost American taxpayers around forty-seven point one billion dollars.A midterm exit poll showed seventy-four percent of voters thought the war was crucial or major when casting their ballot.
Republicans divided on war's electoral impact
Vice President J.D. Vance said the day after the election that the reason Republicans lost is the war. Trump disagreed with the framing but said his answer to doing it again is an emphatic yes.
“My answer is an emphatic 'yes'”
Privileged resolution forces House action
If Massie re-files his articles as privileged, the House must take up the issue within two legislative days. This complicates a five-week lame-duck session where government funding runs out after December eleventh.
The essence
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie is preparing to reintroduce eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the Iran war and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, though Trump and some Republicans defend the military operations.
