Hegseth escapes impeachment — for now
· Vox
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Welcome to The Logoff: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has narrowly escaped impeachment — for now.
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What’s happening? On Tuesday evening, the House voted to refer an impeachment resolution against Hegseth to committee, functionally dooming it.
The vote, which fell along party lines with the exception of Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who joined Democrats in voting against the referral, is a victory for Hegseth. The defense secretary’s future at the Pentagon has been under intense speculation since voters resoundingly repudiated President Donald Trump and the war with Iran in last week’s midterm elections.
Prior to Tuesday’s vote, Hegseth had been facing impeachment as early as tomorrow on eight articles filed against him by Massie on Monday.
Why did Massie want to impeach Hegseth? Broadly speaking, it’s because Hegseth is the public face of the extremely unpopular war with Iran, now in its eighth month, and he appeared vulnerable as even some Republicans voiced their dissatisfaction (though not, evidently, enough dissatisfaction for them to support impeachment).
Specifically, Massie charged Hegseth with:
- Waging war in Iran in violation of the War Powers Resolution (three total charges);
- Disregarding laws intended to minimize civilian casualties;
- Committing extrajudicial killings by carrying out missile strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific;
- Suppressing free speech by trying to retaliate against Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), a retired Navy captain, for a video by Kelly and other Democratic lawmakers reminding service members that they have a responsibility to refuse illegal orders;
- Kidnapping former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife earlier this year; and
- Waging an unlawful war in Yemen last year.
What’s the big picture? Hegseth escaped, for now, with the support of Trump and Vice President JD Vance, as well as newly installed White House chief of staff Stephen Miller.
But he could face another impeachment effort in the new year, with more than enough votes in the incoming Democratic House majority to see it pass (though not enough in the Senate for conviction and removal).
If that occurs, Hegseth will become the third Cabinet secretary in history to be impeached — and the second in less than three years.
And with that, it’s time to log off…
Vox’s Unexplainable podcast sat down with author Emily St. John Mandel (of Station Eleven fame) to talk about how she deploys science in her fiction. It’s a great conversation, and you can listen to it here.
Plus, a quick programming note: I’ll be off tomorrow for Veterans Day! One of my excellent colleagues will be standing in here, and I’ll be back Thursday. Have a great evening!