Impeachment earthquake in the Pentagon after 150 years

After the November 3 Midterm Elections in the USA resulted in a heavy defeat for the Republicans, the first major target of the political struggle in Washington was Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Kentucky's Republican House of Representatives Member, Thomas Massie, brought the impeachment motion against Hegseth, which includes eight separate accusations, back to the agenda on Monday, November 9.

The motion includes allegations of declaring war on Iran without Congressional approval, violation of the War Powers Act of 1973, military operations in Venezuela and Yemen, attacks on boats allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific, law of war obligations regarding the protection of civilians, and interference with a senator's freedom of expression. Massie's application is based on a special procedure that could force the House of Representatives to act by Wednesday, November 11.

However, the Republican administration also has the option of removing the proposal from the agenda or referring it to the commission.

Trump Doesn't Leave His Minister: Defense Line from the White House

President Donald Trump is not willing to remove Hegseth from office, despite the increasing political costs of the Iran War and growing objections within the Republican Party. While Trump defended his secretary as doing an outstanding job, he declared that he was fully committed to keeping him in office.

Targeting Thomas Massie, the leader of the impeachment attempt, with harsh expressions, the Trump administration is trying to portray the process as a political attack rather than a legal showdown. The White House's release of a video supporting Hegseth is also considered as part of this defense strategy. Hegseth, on the other hand, denies the accusations against him and likens the initiative to past impeachment processes against Trump.

However, the President's political support does not remove the constitutional powers of Congress. The real problem facing Trump is not so much Democratic support as how many Republican lawmakers from his own party will vote against Hegseth.

The Scandal of 150 Years Ago: The Secret Trade That Ended a Minister

The developments taking place in Washington today remind us once again of one of the most striking corruption cases in American political history. William Worth Belknap, who was born in Newburgh, New York, on September 22, 1829, turned to the law profession after his education at Princeton and Georgetown.

Belknap settled in Iowa in the 1850s and entered politics by being elected to the state assembly in 1857. He served in the Union army during the American Civil War; He participated in critical battles such as Shiloh, Corinth and Vicksburg and was promoted to brigadier general in 1864.

After the war, Belknap worked in federal tax collection in Iowa between 1865 and 1869, and was appointed Secretary of War in 1869 by President Ulysses S. Grant. However, his successes in his military career and his rise in Washington were overshadowed by a major corruption scandal that emerged a few years later.

How Was the Bribery Network at Fort Sill Set Up?

The events that led to Belknap's political collapse date back to 1870. Commercial activities at the US army's Fort Sill military campus, located in today's Oklahoma region, turned into an extremely lucrative industry thanks to the privileges given to certain merchants.

Merchants who had the right to sell goods and services to the soldiers were earning huge income from their de facto monopoly privileges. Belknap enabled a trader with whom the middleman named Caleb Marsh was affiliated to obtain this trading privilege. In return, part of the earnings obtained within the scope of the secret agreement were transferred to the minister's circle through regular payments.

According to the historical records of the US Senate, the payments to Belknap exceeded 20 thousand dollars, while the records of the House of Representatives indicate that the total size of the bribery network exceeded 40 thousand dollars. This income, which was extremely high in the conditions of the period, helped Belknap finance his flamboyant lifestyle. The distribution of military trade privileges thus became one of the first major cabinet impeachments in American history.

Minister Ran to the White House, Even Resignation Couldn't Save Him

The scandal turned into a political crisis in February 1876, when the American press began questioning Belknap's wealth and business dealings at Fort Sill. During the investigation led by Democratic Congressman Hiester Clymer, Caleb Marsh described the secret payment scheme in his affidavit.

When Belknap realized that the impeachment process had become inevitable, he went to the White House on March 2, 1876 and submitted his resignation to President Ulysses S. Grant. Grant accepted the resignation, but this move did not stop the showdown in Congress.

The House of Representatives unanimously approved Belknap's dismissal the same day. The Senate, on the other hand, concluded that it had the authority to try a minister who had left his post and continued the hearings. At the end of the trial, in which more than forty witnesses were heard, a majority was achieved against Belknap in the votes held on August 1, 1876, but the two-thirds majority required for conviction was not reached. Thus, Belknap avoided being convicted by the Senate, even though he had resigned from his post.

How Could Hegseth Be Dismissed? Critical Mathematics in Congress

According to the American Constitution, removing a cabinet member from office through impeachment requires a two-stage process. In the first stage, the House of Representatives votes on the articles of impeachment, and an absolute majority of the votes cast is sufficient for acceptance.

Since the Republican majority continues in the current Congress, it seems possible for the Democrats to achieve success regarding Hegseth with support from the Republican ranks. If the House passes the motion, Hegseth will not be directly removed from office; The file will be sent to the Senate. In the second stage, the Senate will consider the charges and a conviction will require the support of two-thirds of the senators present.

This threshold constitutes an important assurance for Hegseth, who maintains the support of Republican senators close to Trump. Moreover, the fact that the Democrats won the November 3 elections does not mean that the newly elected deputies and senators took office immediately. The new Congress will take office in January 2027. Therefore, Hegseth's political fate will be determined not only by the election results, but also by the Republican losses in the current Congress and the possible trial schedule.

Democrats Turn Up the Pressure: Will Republicans Be Divided?

The open support of Hegseth's impeachment by Hakeem Jeffries, the leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives, shows that the process is no longer just Thomas Massie's individual initiative. Criticism is also rising within the Republican Party regarding the management of the Iran War and the military decisions of the Pentagon. However, it is still unclear whether these criticisms will turn into votes in favor of impeachment. While some Republican lawmakers find Hegseth's decisions wrong, they are not convinced they constitute constitutionally impeachable offenses.

The Trump administration's strategy is to keep the Republican group together, block the passage of the resolution, and prevent a debate that could interpret Hegseth's dismissal as an admission of the political failure of the Iran war. However, even if the impeachment process does not result in a conviction in the Senate, it could pave the way for comprehensive investigations into the Pentagon's war management, civilian casualties and the military powers of the executive branch.

Is History Repeating itself? The Real War in Washington is on Authority

The 150-year distance between the Belknap and Hegseth files reveals an unchanging power struggle in American politics. At the center of the debate under Belknap was the use of military commercial privileges for personal enrichment; Today, the issue is with what legal authority the American army was brought into war and whether constitutional limits were exceeded in the conduct of the war. The main difference between the two files is that allegations of bribery and abuse of office come to the fore in one, while war powers and the legality of military decisions come to the fore in the other. Moreover, if Hegseth's impeachment attempt is concluded, he will not be the first minister of war in history to face this process.

After Belknap, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was also dismissed by the House of Representatives in 2024, but the Senate rejected the accusations. If Hegseth is dismissed by the House of Representatives, it is possible that he will become the third cabinet member to hold this position in American history. The question now being sought in Washington is not only whether Hegseth can retain his seat; To what extent the presidential powers exercised by Trump over the Iran war can be limited by Congress. Belknap's story brought about the political end of a minister. The Hegseth file may turn into the beginning of a much broader constitutional showdown between the Trump administration and Congress.