"This is not the end," Democratic Minority Leader in the US House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, told reporters, following the House's vote to drop an effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Journalists asked the Democratic representative about the impact of absences on the outcome of the vote. More Democrats were absent than Republicans, giving Republican Party leaders enough votes to abort the impeachment attempt proposed by Representative Thomas Massie.
Jeffries said: “I did not speak with anyone from the staff inside the hall about what happened or did not happen regarding the decision to remove Hegseth, but the matter is not over yet; it is just the beginning.”
Earlier, in response to a question about how Democrats would deal with the Hegseth file in the new Congress - knowing that Jeffries is a candidate to assume the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives next year - he said that they would engage in this discussion “at the appropriate time.”
Jeffries also commented on the Republicans' choice of Jim Jordan as their leader in the next Congress. When asked if he could work with Jordan, Jeffries replied: "This is something we will see how it turns out. I have known Jim since my time working on the Judiciary Committee, and he will now have to determine his course for the next stage."
Jeffries indicated that Democrats will enjoy a "historic" majority, expecting them to gain 260 seats or more.
Progressive Democrats have also indicated their openness to taking further impeachment measures against Hegseth and other officials in the administration of Republican President Donald Trump.
In response to a question from CNN correspondent Manu Raju about whether Democrats should seek to impeach Hegseth when they control the House of Representatives with a large majority next year, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said: “There are a lot of criminals in this administration,” adding that it will be difficult to determine the “prioritization order” in dealing with them.
She added: “There will be many, many investigations. I expect many subpoenas will be issued, and we must follow the evidence wherever it leads.”
When asked later about other Trump administration officials that Democrats should focus on, Ocasio-Cortez explained, “I would also like to make clear that it's not just impeachment.”
The Democratic representative added: “I do not want the matter to be limited to removal from office or prevention from holding public office in the future. If someone commits a crime and is found guilty of it, he must be prosecuted under the same rule of law to which any ordinary citizen is subject.”
For her part, in response to a question about the extent of the Democrats’ urgency in their efforts to isolate Hegseth, Representative Pramila Jayapal said: “Yes, but perhaps not on the first day.”
She explained: "We must end the war, make sure to stop funding it, and we must make progress on issues related to the cost of living."
Jayapal strongly criticized Hegseth's leadership style, noting that the war file brings together all the issues that Democrats are targeting in the new Congress, which are: "corruption, violation of constitutional rights, and the cost of living."
“There is an abundance of harsh practices that we have to bring up with this administration, so we will have to choose carefully so that we can work to address the affordability issues and hold those responsible accountable,” she said.
Asked if she considered Hegseth a “war criminal,” Jaipal replied, “Yes, and I do not use that description lightly,” noting that he was using “military force” to “terrorize people” and push the country into “an illegal war in Iran.”
For his part, Representative Thomas Massie said that he will not continue his efforts to isolate Hegseth during his remaining term in Congress, but in return he intends to disturb the administration by proposing another resolution aimed at restricting Trump’s powers to wage wars, specifically with regard to Iran.
Commenting on the possibility of submitting another impeachment attempt - after the Republicans dropped the decision - the Republican representative, who is leaving office soon, said: “No, it is over. It is completely over.”
Massie indicated that he submitted a resolution related to war powers on Tuesday, explaining: “If the legislative session continues for at least 15 additional days, the Massie resolution on war powers will be put to a vote. But before that, I believe that other resolutions will be put forward by Democrats on war powers.”
When asked whether he would accept the role of “impeachment manager” tasked with presenting the issue before the Senate if the Democrats decided to proceed with the removal of Hegseth, he replied jokingly: “I will not accept this task,” and added sarcastically: “But they can vote for me to be Speaker of the House.”
It is noteworthy that Massie - one of Trump's opponents, who lost the primary elections to a competitor supported by the US President - was the only Republican to vote against the proposal to end the impeachment efforts.
He expressed his astonishment at what it would take for Republicans to decide to break free from Trump's dominance, especially after the severe defeat they suffered in the midterm elections.
"I can't imagine a worse electoral defeat than the one they suffered; they caused the entire state of Texas to shift to the Democrats," he said.
He added: "I don't know when change will happen or what it will take for it to happen, but it hasn't happened yet."
When asked how he felt about being the constant target of Trump's wrath, he replied: "It's become like a comedy at this point," then added jokingly: "He has 'Massie Obsession Syndrome,'" borrowing an expression that the US president himself uses to describe his critics.
