Defiant Hegseth calls Republican's impeachment resolution a 'farce'
asserted
Hegseth → call → resolution
Next steps after Rep. Thomas Massie's impeachment bid still unclear
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth condemned a resolution in the House of Representatives calling for his impeachment, describing it as a "farce" from a "disgruntled congressman" who is leaving office.
uncertain
who → condemn → office
Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie, who won't be in Congress when the new session begins in January, filed a privileged motion on the House floor on Monday to introduce eight articles of impeachment.
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session → begin → impeachment
Impeachment resolutions can carry over to the next session, which begins on Jan. 3 and will feature a House and Senate led by the Democrats.
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which → carry → Democrats
A two-thirds majority of the Senate vote is required for conviction.
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majority → require → conviction
Hegseth said any such proceeding would be a "show trial against the president and the secretary of war" and he characterized the articles of impeachment as "policy disagreements" that don't meet the impeachment standard of high crimes and misdemeanours.
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that → say → crimes
"The proper remedy for a policy disagreement, it's legislation, it's debate, it's the next presidential election," said Hegseth, holding his first press briefing from the Pentagon since May.
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Hegseth → say → May
President Donald Trump gave an enthusiastic response on social media to Hegseth's pushback.
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Trump → give → pushback
Trump on Monday called Massie a "stone-cold loser" and said he would stand by Hegseth even if he is impeached.
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he → call → Hegseth
Under the rules of Massie's motion, a vote is to be held within two legislative days unless a majority supports a countering motion to kill the effort.
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majority → hold → effort
Massie introduced a similar measure in September but the House legislators were sent home before a vote could take place.
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vote → introduce → place
A vote in the House could come by midweek, but the next steps are highly uncertain.
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steps → come → midweek
'They will fail again'
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They → fail → ?
The articles of impeachment in Massie's motion lead with the lack of congressional authorization for the war in Iran.
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articles → lead → Iran
The articles also include references to Hegseth's role in carrying out military actions in Yemen and Venezuela, the deadly strikes on boats allegedly transporting drugs in waters near South America and attempts to prosecute two Congress members who served in the military and recording a video advising service members they were not obliged to follow illegal orders.
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they → include → orders
"I stand behind every one of these operations," Hegseth said on Tuesday.
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Hegseth → stand → Tuesday
He said "thousands of American lives" were saved with every boat strike — even as human rights organizations and international bodies have said they possibly constitute crimes against humanity.
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they → say → humanity
Hegseth also said that former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro was "not kidnapped, he was brought to justice by America's best."
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he → say → best
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky speaks Monday outside the Capitol about articles of impeachment against Hegseth.
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Massie → speak → Hegseth
Massie, who was defeated earlier this year by a Trump-backed Republican opponent in a primary, pushed forward an impeachment resolution over the objections of House Republican leadership.
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who → defeat → leadership
"The reality is, we're not indicting him for being bad at his job," Massie told reporters on Monday.
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Massie → indict → Monday
"In fact, he was very effective at killing school children in Iran.
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he → kill → Iran
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has said a vote on impeachment would be "a terrible thing for our allies and our enemies to see."
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allies → say → impeachment
Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, Johnson's potential successor as the next Speaker, said on the weekend he was a "hard yes" for impeaching Hegseth.
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he → say → Hegseth
Several U.S. military bases, diplomatic buildings have been damaged in Iran war: inspector general report
UN mission finds 'grounds to believe' U.S. committed war crimes in strikes on Iranian school, sports centre
The last House impeachment was of former Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas in Joe Biden's administration, for breach of public trust and willful refusal to comply with the law.
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impeachment → damage → law
The Republican-led House cited the surge of migrants at the southern border in just the second impeachment of a cabinet secretary, but the Democratic-led Senate never took up the measure.
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Senate → lead → measure
Trump was twice impeached in the House, in 2019 and 2021, but acquitted at Senate trials.
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Trump → impeach → trials
In the second impeachment, many Republicans argued that Trump's actions leading up to the 2021 Capitol riot were best dealt with in the courts, a stance that unintentionally saw Trump fundraise and launch a remarkable political comeback to return to the White House.
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Trump → argue → House
Hegseth called those Trump impeachments failures and predicted that the current efforts "will fail again."
Razor-thin confirmation
A vote will put pressure on Republicans, many of whom blamed their election wipeout on the Iran war.
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many → call → war
Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska highlighted other concerns not contained in the articles, concerning Hegseth's firing of dozens of senior military leaders.
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Bacon → highlight → leaders
Vice-President JD Vance broke a tie in the Senate to enable Hegseth's confirmation in early 2025.
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Vance → break → 2025
Republicans Susan Collins and Mitch McConnell — each set to leave Congress — voted against his confirmation, as did Republican Lisa Murkowski and all of the Senate Democrats.
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Murkowski → set → Democrats
Thom Tillis, a Republican also leaving the Senate, has expressed regret for his vote to confirm Hegseth.
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Tillis → leave → Hegseth
"He is intimidated by competence and retreats to ginning up culture wars instead of soberly attending to the vital work of our national defence and the health and well-being of our fighting force," Tillis said of Hegseth in September.
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Tillis → intimidate → September
A number of episodes sparked concern about Hegseth's fitness for the job among Democratic lawmakers and the handful of Republicans, including a 2017 sexual assault allegation.
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number → spark → allegation
Hegseth admitted paying a settlement to the woman, to prevent a costly and drawn-out process.
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Hegseth → admit → process
Other accusations that arose during his confirmation hearings involved excessive drinking and financial mismanagement at two veterans' organizations he previously led.
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he → arise → organizations
During Trump's first term, Hegseth was an on-air Fox News contributor who lobbied the president on behalf of Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher, Maj. Matthew Golsteyn and Lt. Clint Lorance before military tribunals involving the men had even been completed.
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tribunals → lobby → men
Each man had faced accusations of war crimes, but Hegseth argued they were being treated unfairly.
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they → face → crimes
Trump ultimately granted clemency to Golsteyn and Lorance, and elevated Gallagher in rank.
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Trump → grant → rank
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
