ALBAWABA- Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky on Monday introduced articles of impeachment against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, accusing him of high crimes and misdemeanors over his handling of the war with Iran and other military operations. The privileged resolution could force a House floor vote as early as Wednesday.
The eight articles accuse Hegseth of waging war without congressional authorization in violation of the 1973 War Powers Resolution, continuing military operations beyond statutory deadlines, disregarding laws intended to protect civilians and abusing his authority through alleged extrajudicial actions and military operations involving Venezuela and Yemen.
The move comes days after Democrats secured major victories in the midterm elections, gaining control of both chambers of Congress amid growing public dissatisfaction with the war in Iran and rising fuel prices. A successful impeachment vote in the Republican-controlled House would represent a significant political setback for President Donald Trump's administration.
However, removing Hegseth from office would require a two-thirds majority in the Senate, making conviction difficult even after the newly elected Congress takes office early next year.
Trump strongly defended Hegseth on Monday, saying the defense secretary had done "a very good job" and that he would continue to support him. The president pointed to what he described as Hegseth's achievements in the military campaigns against Iran and Venezuela, questioning why he should face impeachment after overseeing those operations.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also criticized the impeachment initiative, describing it as unfair and praising Hegseth as a hard-working and highly intelligent official who had performed well in his position.
BREAKING: Republican Rep. Thomas Massie is introducing articles of impeachment against Secretary Pete Hegseth. https://t.co/B7QlQC7SV2 https://t.co/p5ttapvMBU
Hegseth, meanwhile, has rejected the prospect of impeachment and scheduled an unusual press conference for Tuesday. He dismissed the effort as unlikely to succeed, drawing comparisons with previous attempts to impeach Trump.
Addressing criticism over the political consequences of the Iran war, Hegseth endorsed Trump's position that the military campaign was necessary, arguing that decisions concerning national security do not always have to be popular to be justified.
The resolution's privileged status requires House Republican leaders to take procedural action within two legislative days, either scheduling a vote, moving to table the measure, or referring it to committee.
Dr. Mansour Al-Maswari is Postdoctoral Fellow at Columbia University-Global Center, Amman. A Yemeni academician with a Ph.D. in English "Comparative Literature" and two MA degrees, one in political science and the other in English, Dr. Al-Maswari possesses more than 17 years of extensive experience in university-level teaching, research, research reviewing, bilingual translation, and copy-writing...
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