Normally, the prospect of a cabinet secretary’s impeachment would be a reason for a president to cut him loose. In the case of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the threat of impeachment is one very big reason why he will stay in his post at the Pentagon, at least for now.
On Monday, Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican who will exit Congress next year after losing his primary to a candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump, introduced articles of impeachment against Hegseth. The measures have earned support from nearly all of the Democrats in the House including the likely next speaker, Hakeem Jeffries.
Since then, Trump and his senior team have rallied around Hegseth. And it worked. On Tuesday evening the House voted on near party lines 211–204 to refer the bill to the Judiciary Committee, effectively killing it. Eleven Democrats who might have approved of the impeachment appear to have missed or sat out the vote. But Massie said Tuesday he will now introduce all eight articles of impeachment as stand-alone bills.
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