The push to oust Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is gaining momentum, with Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is poised to become House speaker in January, saying he’s a “hard yes” on an impeachment resolution slated to come up for a vote as soon as this week.
The New York congressman said Sunday his party will “visit accountability” on the Trump White House beginning with the expected vote on Mr. Hegseth and continuing in the new Congress, where Democrats will control both the House and the Senate.
Mr. Jeffries, appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” said Democrats are also planning aggressive investigations into Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other members of President Trump’s administration and family.
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“We are going to visit accountability on the wrongdoers,” Mr. Jeffries said. “There is a cost to corruption,” Mr. Jeffries said. “Our view has been if you’ve got folks out there who have been shortchanging the American people, screwing over the American people, or stealing from the American people, they need to be held accountable in a manner consistent with Congress’s role constitutionally as a separate and co-equal branch of government and a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch.”
After the midterm elections, Mr. Hegseth posted a defiant video on X defending his tenure at the Pentagon, criticizing Democrats and Republicans alike.
In response to outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie, Kentucky Republican, and congressional Democrats moving toward impeachment proceedings, Mr. Hegseth characterized the effort as a “sham” orchestrated by a “disgruntled, defeated congressman.”
“Their policies don’t work, so their obsession with political theater disguised as power drives them to try to destroy their opponents,” Mr. Hegseth said. “It’s all about the politics of personal destruction.”
Sen. Ruben Gallego, Arizona Democrat, said Friday on CNN that Mr. Hegseth’s reaction to his critics was over the top.
“This is ridiculous. If he wanted to make a good argument for him not to be impeached, he literally just doubled down and asked for impeachment,” he said.
Sen. Gallego said Mr. Hegseth has done little to work with Congress over the U.S.-Israel campaign against Iran.
“He keeps asking for money, and yet we have zero concept of what is actually happening with this war, how deep the strikes have been, and what’s been the negative effect on our force posture in that area,” he said.
Rep. Massie, a Trump antagonist who lost in the GOP primary earlier this year, said his plan to force a vote on Mr. Hegseth’s impeachment is likely to win at least some GOP support. Democrats will back the resolution overwhelmingly, he said Sunday.
Rep. Massie blamed the embattled Pentagon chief for the Iran war, which he said has caused the cost of living to increase and made the country less safe.
“I believe there will be incredibly strong support for [the Massie] resolution,” Mr. Jeffries said.
The incoming chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said “vigorous oversight” of the Department of Defense would be its top priority when the Democratic-led Congress is sworn in in January.
Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, currently the top Democrat on the committee, said his party will demand complete transparency and accountability from senior Pentagon officials through “increased public testimony.”
“I also believe it is important to reestablish an Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee to help the committee’s work,” Mr. Smith said last week after the blue tsunami gave Democrats comfortable control of both houses of Congress.
Axios reported that the blame game is already in full swing among House Republicans, especially over the U.S. war with Iran.
Mr. Hegseth has become the face of the war with many on Capitol Hill, putting him squarely in the crosshairs of frustrated Republicans, Axios reported.
“Iran, Iran, Iran … We should have never done the war before the midterms,” a GOP lawmaker told Axios.
Another GOP lawmaker told Axios that Mr. Hegseth’s tone and rhetoric have been “very damaging to our ability to get the facts out to the American public on why the strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities, and the additional military actions, were necessary.”
The costly, nine-month-old war in Iran is being blamed in some circles for heavy Republican losses across the country.
On Sunday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said impeaching Mr. Hegseth is a decision for lawmakers. But he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “real questions” about Mr. Hegseth’s tenure at the Pentagon need to be addressed.
“From my perspective, he is completely incompetent. He’s like an eight-year-old playing with toy soldiers every day,” said Gov. Shapiro, widely considered a top contender in the 2028 presidential elections. “He is someone who I think is making America less safe, and there has to be real accountability.”
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