On ABC’s This Week, Hakeem Jeffries, the New York congressman who is widely seen as the frontrunner to become the next House Speaker, said he is a “hard yes” for impeaching Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. Jeffries accused Hegseth of abusing his power, undermining national security and engineering a costly war of choice in Iran.
Out‑of‑office Republican Thomas Massie, a long‑time critic of President Donald Trump, has already announced plans to introduce a resolution to impeach Hegseth as early as Monday. Massie’s resolution contains eight articles of impeachment, including a claim that Hegseth violated the War Powers Resolution of 1973 in relation to America’s involvement in Iran.
Jeffries, who has pledged that the newly empowered Democrats will act as a check on the Trump administration, said that the House Democrats are not currently focused on impeaching President Trump, who was impeached twice during his first term. He added that “Pete Hegseth has got to go.”
Hegseth released a nearly six‑minute video last week urging Congress to approve the Pentagon’s latest military budget before the Republican‑controlled legislature’s final days end. In the clip, he dismissed the impeachment threat as “sham articles” and accused his opponents of using political theatre to destroy them.
The House, which returned to session this week after the Democrats’ midterm landslide, now holds a 254‑seat majority, well above the 218 threshold needed to pass impeachment articles. However, a two‑thirds Senate majority would still be required to remove Hegseth from office.
