House Members Set Date for Vote to Oust Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
Rep. Thomas Massie filed impeachment articles in September and plans to trigger a procedural vote on November 9, the day after the midterm elections.
By Rafael Ortega ·
The U.S. House of Representatives is preparing to vote on the removal of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, with a procedural step scheduled for November 9.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stated that Democratic leadership intends to act quickly after the midterm elections. Speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania, Jeffries said, "One of the first things we're going to do in the majority, we're going to run Pete Hegseth out of town," according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The party is positioning to launch formal impeachment proceedings if it secures a strong mandate from voters.
Criticism of Hegseth has come from both sides of the aisle. In September, Republican Representative Thomas Massie filed articles of impeachment against the defense secretary. Massie accused Hegseth of abusing his office by executing an order for hostilities against Iran without approval from Congress. Massie has indicated he will use these articles to force an impeachment vote shortly after the House returns to session on November 9, the day after the elections.
Several Democratic lawmakers have used strong language to describe Hegseth's performance. Representative Pramila Jayapal told CNN that Hegseth is "incompetent and, frankly, corrupt." Representative Jared Huffman went further, calling him an "unhinged fanatic who should be impeached and removed from office." These comments reflect a growing consensus within the party that Hegseth is a target for the incoming majority.
The debate in Washington coincides with recent scrutiny over Hegseth's overseas activities. Hegseth held a covert meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Israel's Ovda air base on Monday. The meeting took place days before Israel's election. Hegseth confirmed the visit occurred but did not elaborate on the details of their conversation, according to Reuters.
KAN News reported that the primary topic of the discussion was Iran. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz reportedly attended the meeting. Senior Israeli military officials, including IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, were not invited for reasons of confidentiality. The timing of the meeting has added urgency to the procedural maneuvers in the House.
Source: The Jerusalem Post
