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Trump supporters at the GOP midterm convention in Dallas brushed off Democratic efforts to impeach War Secretary Pete Hegseth, but they may be in for a rude awakening.
Democrats do not currently have the votes to impeach Hegseth, with Republicans holding the House majority.
uncertain
Republicans → sign → majority
But that could change in January if Democrats win control of the chamber in the midterm elections, giving them the power to advance impeachment proceedings against the Trump administration's top Pentagon official.
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Democrats → change → official
Removal would still require a two-thirds vote in the Senate.
asserted
Removal → require → Senate
The warning comes as recent polling shows Democrats with an advantage heading into the midterms.
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Democrats → come → midterms
A CBS News/YouGov poll released Sunday found Democrats leading Republicans 54 percent to 46 percent on the generic congressional ballot, while other national polling has also shown Democrats holding an edge.
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Democrats → release → edge
Micki Larson-Olson, an Iraq War veteran and January 6 attendee who was arrested after defying police orders to leave the Capitol grounds and later spent 161 days in jail before being pardoned by President Donald Trump, said Democrats simply did not have the power to remove Hegseth.
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Democrats → arrest → Hegseth
You know why?
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You → know → ?
Because they don't have the power,' she said.
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she → have → power
Micki Larson-Olson, pardoned by President Trump after she was arrested on Jan 6, said the 'demonrats' can't do bit, diddley s***, when it comes to impeaching Secretary Hegseth
House Democrats are urging Congress to impeach and remove Hegseth over questions surrounding civilian casualties, military readiness and transparency at the Pentagon
One attendee argued that Democrats were using Hegseth as a target because they were united more by opposition to Trump than by a single political agenda
'
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they → pardon → agenda
They can't impeach s***.
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They → impeach → ?
You have to have justification.
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You → have → justification
You have to prove that he broke our Constitution or whatever.'
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he → have → Constitution
Larson-Olson compared the effort with the impeachment proceedings brought against Trump, adding: 'Look how many times they tried to impeach President Trump.
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they → compare → Trump
They're always putting in impeachment paperwork for President Trump.'
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They → put → Trump
Her comments reflected a broader lack of concern among Trump supporters gathered in Dallas, with several saying the impeachment push would do little to change their view of Hegseth.
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push → reflect → Hegseth
Joanne Chen Bryant said she was similarly unconcerned.
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she → say → ?
'Democrats want to impeach everybody,' she said.
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she → want → everybody
'So, you know, the fact that they want to impeach him doesn't really hold too much water for me.'
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they → know → me
Bryant said she trusted Hegseth because of his military background and the sensitive information available to him as secretary.
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she → say → secretary
'I know Pete's background, and I know he's a highly intelligent person,' she said.
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she → know → background
'He has access to deeply secret and intelligent information that isn't open to the regular citizen like me.
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that → have → me
And I trust him.'
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I → trust → him
Another attendee, Tracy, dismissed the effort as simply part of the political process.
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attendee → dismiss → process
The RNC had expected more than 20,000 people to attend the two-day convention, although the party did not release a final attendance figure
'Isn't that what Democrats do, is impeach people?
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Democrats → expect → people
Or try to?' she said.
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she → try → ?
Rusty Ramgopal went further, arguing that Democrats were increasingly defined by their opposition to Trump.
'
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Democrats → go → Trump
I think the Democrats are saying that because they really don't know what they're about other than simply opposition to Trump or the Trump administration,' he said.
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he → think → Trump
The only thing that Democrats agree on is that they hate Donald Trump and hate the people around Donald Trump.'
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they → agree → Trump
Ramgopal also argued that impeachment had become too partisan.
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impeachment → argue → ?
It's a legal process, constitutional process, and sadly it's been cheapened into a partisan political process in the modern day,' he said.
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he → cheapen → day
Democrats introduced six articles of impeachment against Hegseth in April, led by Arizona Representative Yassamin Ansari.
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Democrats → introduce → Ansari
The resolution accuses him of, among other allegations, directing an unauthorized war against Iran, violating the law of armed conflict, mishandling sensitive military information, obstructing congressional oversight and abusing his office.
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resolution → accuse → office
The articles also accuse Hegseth of conduct that allegedly brought disrepute upon the United States and its armed forces.
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that → accuse → States
The resolution was referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
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resolution → refer → Committee
But the effort has done little to unsettle the Trump supporters who gathered in Dallas last week, who largely portrayed the impeachment push as another partisan fight between the Trump administration and its Democratic opponents.
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who → do → administration
The Aporia
