- Hegseth doesn’t get “a lot of love” on Capitol Hill, retired Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) told Fox News. Bacon told Axios he was undecided on this week’s vote.
Driving the news: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) plans to force a vote on his resolution to impeach Hegseth for allegedly defying Congress and illegally continuing the U.S. war in Iran.
- Republican leaders avoided the measure before Election Day after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) canceled the votes and sent lawmakers home early.
- Johnson denied that his decision to send members home was linked to the impeachment vote, but it would have been a politically difficult vote for Republicans just weeks before the midterms.
- The political calculus has shifted dramatically since Tuesday, with the Republican Party’s crushing defeat fueling anger within the conference and increasing the number of Republicans willing to support impeachment.
The big picture: The blame game is already in full swing among House Republicans, with the war in Iran emerging as the main target of their anger.
- “Iran, Iran, Iran… We should never have gone to war before the midterms,” a Republican lawmaker told Axios.
- Hegseth is largely the face of the war on Capitol Hill, putting him in the crosshairs of frustrated Republicans.
- Another Republican lawmaker told Axios that Hegseth’s tone and rhetoric have been “very detrimental to our ability to communicate to the American people why the strikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities and additional military actions were necessary.”
Zoom: Hegseth is also on “thin ice” with the Trump administration, with some officials pushing for his ouster, Axios’ Marc Caputo and Alex Isenstadt reported.
- Trump defended Hegseth on Wednesday, telling reporters he had every intention of “keeping” him in office.
- If Hegseth is still there in January, the new Democratic majority will have the power to continue investigations and impeachment proceedings.
The other side: Hegseth fired back, calling the impeachment attempt a “sham” carried out by a “disgruntled and defeated congressman” in a video released Thursday
- Massie, who lost his primary to a Trump-backed opponent, fired back, urging Trump to replace Hegseth while Republicans still control the Senate. “There is one contingency in which I will not reintroduce the articles of impeachment: Hegseth resigns,” Massie wrote.
Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesperson said in a statement to Axios: “Secretary Hegseth will not back down or be deterred by politicians seeking to score partisan points or launch false investigations where no wrongdoing exists. The War Department followed the law, and our Secretary will continue to stand up and fight every day to support and defend the Constitution, lead our troops, and protect America.
- “We will continue to lead President Trump’s agenda at the War Department – despite threats of a fake witch hunt from Democrats – and Secretary Hegseth is 100% committed to leading the Department through the end of President Trump’s term.”
Reality check: Even if the House impeaches Hegseth, his removal would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate, a threshold that would be difficult to reach even when Democrats take control of the chamber in January.
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