House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) announced on Sunday that he supports the impeachment of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, describing his stance as a "hard yes" during an interview with ABC News. Jeffries accused the defense secretary of abusing his power, undermining national security, and engineering a "reckless and costly war of choice in Iran," which he argued has increased prices for Americans and made the country less safe.
Speaking on ABC's "This Week," Jeffries stated, "Pete Hegseth has got to go." When asked by co-anchor Jonathan Karl whether he was confident all House Democrats would support the potential resolution, Jeffries indicated that his conference would "have that conversation" on Tuesday morning. This meeting is scheduled as members convene in Washington for the first time since the midterm election, with Jeffries expressing belief that there will be "incredibly strong support" for the measure.
The push for impeachment is being driven in part by Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie, an outgoing Republican who has frequently clashed with President Donald Trump. Massie told ABC News he intends to reintroduce a privileged resolution to impeach Hegseth as early as Monday. By raising a question of privilege on the floor, House leaders are required to schedule a vote on the matter within two legislative days.
Massie’s proposed resolution includes eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth. The documents accuse the defense secretary of violating the War Powers Resolution of 1973, among other alleged offenses.
"A disgruntled, defeated congressman, along with all his Democrat allies, has also dropped sham articles of impeachment against yours truly, just like they tried against President Trump twice," Hegseth said in a video posted to social media on Thursday. "It's all about the politics of personal destruction — didn't work against President Trump, and it won't work with me."
President Trump has publicly defended Hegseth, telling reporters on Thursday that the secretary has "done a fantastic job." The president also told ABC News that he has "every intention to keep him" in the role. Hegseth responded to the impeachment efforts on Thursday, characterizing the move as a political attack similar to the previous attempts against the president.
<small>Source: Yahoo News — read the original story there.</small>