Republican lawmaker moves to force vote on Pete Hegseth impeachment

Impeachment proceedings against U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have now begun. On Monday, Representative Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives to launch impeachment proceedings against the Pentagon chief, who is widely disliked by Democrats and has few supporters within Republican ranks, where he has come under fire for his role in the war against Iran since last week’s midterm-election setback.Calls for Hegseth’s removal have grown steadily louder in recent days. Congress returned to work on Monday following the Democrats’ landslide victory in the November 3 midterms, and one of the first items on its agenda is expected to be the opening of impeachment proceedings against the defense secretary.The impeachment effort is the first directed at a member of the current administration and a measure of the extent to which the midterm results may have weakened Donald Trump’s government.Massie’s resolution argues that Hegseth backed military operations that lacked a clear legal basis, well-defined objectives and a coherent strategic rationale, exposing U.S. troops to unnecessary risks.Massie’s initiative must first clear a vote in the House of Representatives, which could take place as early as Wednesday. If approved by a majority of lawmakers, the measure would then move to the Senate.Since last week, all eyes have been on Massie, a longtime opponent of U.S. military interventions abroad, who first moved in mid-September to launch impeachment proceedings against the former Fox News host. At the time, House Speaker Mike Johnson chose to delay consideration of the measure rather than bring it to the floor. He then moved up the House recess ahead of the midterm elections, effectively consigning the effort to legislative limbo.Massie, who will not seek reelection when the new Congress takes office in January, had said that the only way Hegseth could stop the process was by resigning voluntarily. Democrats have already indicated that they will fully support the measure put forward by their Republican colleague.“A hard yes,” Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries said over the weekend when asked whether he and his party would support the measure.It remains unclear whether there is enough time for the full impeachment process to run its course before the current Congress’s term expires in two months and the new Democratic-controlled Congress is sworn in in January. But the mere opening of impeachment proceedings is already a significant political blow to Hegseth, even as Trump has repeatedly come to his defense since last Tuesday’s election.“He’s guilty of two things, basically winning two wars,” Trump told reporters on Sunday as he returned to Washington from Florida, where he had spent the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate. “I believe we saved the Middle East and Israel combined. And it’s awfully hard to say let’s impeach somebody who did that.”Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition