Pete Hegseth released a video of more than five minutes on Thursday to dismiss the impeachment effort against him as a Democratic hit job. The articles were drafted by Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, which is a fairly important detail to leave out of your own defense. Meanwhile, the president who says Hegseth is doing a "fantastic job" has reportedly been asking his friends who should replace him.
A Republican Walks Into a Democratic Plot
Here's the setup, per NBC News. Massie announced Wednesday that he will reintroduce articles of impeachment against the Defense Secretary when the House returns Monday. Hegseth responded in a social media video by blaming "a disgruntled, defeated congressman, along with all his Democrat allies," and called the articles "sham" charges, "just like they tried against President Trump twice."
Notice the structure of that sentence. The congressman is a Republican, but the allies get the party label. It's a neat trick. Put the D on the people who haven't done anything yet and let the guy who actually did it stay anonymous.
And "defeated" is carrying real weight there. Massie lost his GOP primary after crossing Trump. So the message is that anyone who defies the president gets punished, and then gets mocked for having been punished. Cozy little system.
The Iran War Hegseth Barely Mentioned
The video ran past five minutes. The Iran war, which is a driving force behind both the impeachment push and the Republican losses in this week's midterms, got a brief touch.
Let that sink in. The man running the Pentagon during an unpopular war spent most of his defense of himself talking about something else. The thing voters just rebuked on Tuesday was the thing he covered the least.
That's not an accident. You don't linger on the part of the story that cost your party the House. You say "politics of personal destruction," you invoke the president, and you hope nobody asks what the war is for.
Trump Says He's Staying. Trump Has Said That Before.
Trump told reporters Wednesday he isn't planning to replace Hegseth. On Thursday he said Hegseth "has done a fantastic job" and "probably has opposition" because of what he's done, including purging military leadership.
Hold that thought, because NBC News also spoke to two people familiar with the discussions who say Trump has told some allies he's considering replacing Hegseth. He's reportedly asking them who should succeed him.
There's a pattern worth remembering here. Trump has previously insisted he wasn't considering dismissing department heads, just days before they were shown the door. So when the president says a Cabinet secretary is safe, treat it the way you'd treat a restaurant telling you the fish is fresh. Maybe. Check the smell.
Massie's Offer: Quit and the Articles Go Away
Massie laid out his terms plainly. "There is one contingency in which I won't reintroduce the articles of impeachment: Hegseth resigns."
He also urged Trump on Thursday to replace Hegseth while Republicans still hold the Senate. His pitch was a warning: "My Hegseth impeachment resolution is a much gentler version of what's coming when Dem's control Congress. They'll have hearings & trials."
That's a Republican telling the president that the version of this fight he can still control is the one happening right now. Democrats are not hiding their interest in the project. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, poised to be the next speaker, is among those who have indicated a desire to oust Hegseth since the midterm wins.
The Math Is Ugly, but the History Is Uglier
Impeachment needs votes, and right now Massie doesn't have them. He would need several Republicans to join all Democrats for the measure to succeed. He tried to force a vote in September, but Speaker Mike Johnson sent the House home early. That's a legislative strategy we might call "the fire drill."
The House has impeached only two Cabinet officials in history. One was Alejandro Mayorkas, Joe Biden's homeland security secretary, in a partisan vote. The other was William Belknap, the secretary of war in the 1870s. No Cabinet member has ever been convicted by the Senate.
So the odds of a conviction are slim. But impeachment isn't only about conviction. It's about hearings, subpoenas, and sworn testimony, and the incoming majority knows exactly what it wants to ask.
The Dingo Take
Imagine a Democratic defense secretary under impeachment threat from a member of his own party, who then released a video blaming "Republican allies" and the "politics of personal destruction." Fox News would run it on loop for a week. The chyron would write itself. And every Republican on Capitol Hill would be asking why he couldn't even keep his own side in line.
But here we are. A Republican filed the articles. Trump, according to people who've spoken to him, is shopping for a replacement while telling cameras the guy is great. And the Pentagon chief's big defense is that it's all a partisan stunt, delivered in a video that mostly avoids the war everyone is angry about.
Hegseth can call it a sham all he wants. The voters already delivered their verdict on Tuesday, and the next Congress is going to deliver subpoenas. If the president really believes his man is doing a fantastic job, he can say so under oath.
Comments