Rep. Thomas Massie predicted that, one way or another, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will be out of office by the end of the year.
asserted
Hegseth → predict → year
The Kentucky Republican made the remarks Monday on CNN, hours after he introduced articles of impeachment against Hegseth, setting the stage for a House vote that could come as early as Tuesday.
uncertain
that → make → Tuesday
Should the House pass the resolution, the matter would then move to the Senate for a trial.
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matter → pass → trial
In the interview, host Kaitlin Collins noted that President Donald Trump has publicly supported Hegseth, who faces a slew of charges, including waging war against Iran without congressional approval, ignoring laws that minimize civilian casualties and extrajudicial killings.
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that → note → casualties
“They stand by them until the day they don’t,” Massie said.
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Massie → stand → day
“I still put it at a high probability that Pete Hegseth won’t make it until December 31 of this year.”
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Hegseth → put → year
Massie, a libertarian conservative who broke with the president over the Iran war and the Epstein files, lost his GOP primary in May to a Trump-endorsed challenger.
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who → break → challenger
Asked to explain his thinking, Massie said that, if Hegseth does not step aside now, he will again face impeachment proceedings from Democrats, who reclaimed control of both the Senate and the House in the midterms.
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who → ask → midterms
“When the Democrats get control in January, they’re not going to be as polite as I am,” he said.
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he → get → January
“They’re gonna have hearings in the House.
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They → go → House
They’re gonna bring in people who’ve served under Hegseth, people who’ve seen some things and know some things that aren’t even public yet.
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that → go → things
He also noted that Trump will have a harder time getting the Senate to confirm a new defense secretary in January, when Democrats will hold a majority in the chamber.
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Democrats → note → chamber
As of Tuesday, Democrats are projected to win 54 Senate seats, to the GOP’s 44.
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Democrats → project → 44
As a result of these factors, he said he believes the Trump administration will cut its losses and oust Hegseth before then, despite what the president has said publicly.
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president → say → what
Elsewhere in the interview, Massie responded to a Truth Social post from Trump, which labeled the congressman a “total loser” and accused him of “trying to impeach perhaps the most popular and successful military official in the Country.
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which → respond → Country
“This isn’t a popularity contest,” Massie said.
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Massie → say → ?
“I didn’t offer these articles of impeachment because I thought Pete Hegseth was ineffective.”
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Hegseth → offer → impeachment
“He has been effective,” Massie said before accusing the Pentagon chief of illegal actions in Iran, his deadly campaign against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and the U.S. military’s seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
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Massie → say → Maduro
“He was effective at killing 200 school children,” Massie said.
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Massie → kill → children
“He was effective at bombing fishing boats that may or may not have had people who were guilty of smuggling drugs.
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who → bomb → drugs
He’s been effective at waging an unconstitutional kidnapping in Venezuela…
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He → wag → Venezuela
That’s what we’re impeaching him for, his effectiveness in breaking the law and violating the Constitution.
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we → ’ → Constitution
The Kentucky congressman also predicted that a number of Republicans will vote to impeach Hegseth, including those who narrowly won their midterm elections and now feel obligated to distance themselves from the administration.
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who → predict → administration
On Tuesday, Hegseth returned fire at Massie during a press conference at the Pentagon.
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Hegseth → return → Pentagon
Hegseth, a former Fox News host, sought to paint Massie’s impeachment effort as a broader attack on members of the military, telling reporters: “If they want to come for the warriors, they're going to have to come through me.”
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they → seek → me
He further drew on the examples of past defense secretaries who carried out foreign military operations without congressional authorization, but were not impeached.
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who → draw → authorization
“Not under Reagan in Lebanon,” Hegseth said.
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Hegseth → say → Lebanon
The history is clear, and it's very straightforward, and one disgruntled congressman wants to shred it over policy disagreements.”
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congressman → want → disagreements
“It’s a farce, and it’s a stunt, and everybody knows it,” he said.
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he → ’ → it
“Let’s be clear about what this resolution actually does: it tells our enemies, Iran, the cartels, every adversary watching, that the United States will actually punish its own warriors and its own civilian leadership.”
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States → tell → warriors
Trump quickly weighed in on Truth Social, writing that Hegseth had received “an ‘A’ PLUS, PLUS, PLUS for his defense against a disgruntled, angry, defeated, former Congressman.”
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Hegseth → weigh → Congressman
Throughout U.S. history, just two Cabinet officials have been impeached: William Belknap, secretary of war under Ulysses Grant, and Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of Homeland Security under Joe Biden.
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officials → impeach → Biden
Neither was convicted by the Senate.
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Neither → convict → Senate
The Aporia
