Republican Massie tables a motion in the House of Representatives to impeach Hegseth
Massie launched his new campaign to oust Hegseth when the House of Representatives resumed its sessions following the mid-term elections
Republican MP Thomas Massie has tabled a motion of impeachment against US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. Massie launched his new initiative to remove Hegseth from office when the House of Representatives resumed its work following the mid-term elections. He published his resolution, which sets out the charges against Trump’s Defence Secretary, on social media earlier today, and the tabling of the motion is expected to lead to a vote in the chamber as early as Wednesday.
“I’ve seen some of my colleagues say that Secretary of War Hegseth has been effective and that they agree with the war, so they will vote against impeachment,” Massie wrote in a social media post on Monday morning. “But that’s not the point. The point is whether he has committed acts warranting impeachment, and the answer is yes, eight times.”
The main charge: a war against Iran waged without congressional authorisation
Massie, who is due to retire at the end of the year, accuses Hegseth of waging war against Iran without congressional authorisation, of carrying out extrajudicial executions through attacks on alleged drug-trafficking vessels, of having disregarded laws designed to minimise civilian casualties, including an attack on an Iranian school, and of having illegally abducted a foreign leader: the Venezuelan Nicolás Maduro.
Hegseth was the Trump administration’s most prominent and enthusiastic supporter of its unpopular conflict in Iran – a conflict that sent energy prices soaring, fuelled global inflation and ultimately led to the Republicans’ defeat in the mid-term elections on 3 November.
