USA, Republican Massie formalizes motion to impeach Hegseth in the House

Thomas Massie, Republican congressman, has formalized a motion of impeachment against US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the House. The vote is expected to take place by Wednesday. Massie presented the motion when the US Congress resumed its work, after the mid-term elections which marked the victory of the Democrats over President Donald Trump's Republicans. The Republican congressman from Kentucky, one of the most critical of the tycoon, has filed eight charges against Hegseth accusing the defense secretary of "serious crimes and misdemeanors", including starting a war against Iran without the authorization of Congress. Hegseth reiterated that he was not worried and that if he went back he would do everything as before.

The eight articles against Hegseth

The motion is expected to be voted on as early as this week. Both Republican and Democratic internal sources have explained that there is a real possibility that the impeachment against the head of the Pentagon will be approved in the House, where a simple majority is enough, but it is unlikely that it will pass in the Senate (where two-thirds of the votes are needed). The eight articles presented by Massie accuse the defense secretary of "serious crimes and misdemeanors," including launching a war against Iran without congressional authorization and causing the deaths of hundreds of civilians in seaborne attacks against suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean. Hegseth is also accused of retaliating against Democratic Senator Mark Kelly and kidnapping former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in Operation Absolute Resolve.

Massie's motion

According to international media, Massie pushed for a vote before the Democrats take control of the House and Senate in the new year because he would like to push Trump to fire Hegseth. Even if approved by the House, as mentioned, the formal removal of Hegseth would require a trial and a two-thirds majority in the Senate and at the moment this scenario is considered very unlikely. It could be, however, that Trump fires his defense secretary before arriving at impeachment and before the Democrats take control of Congress in the new year. To date, however, Trump has continued to defend him publicly but the tycoon is no stranger to sudden turns towards his allies and advisors.

The reactions

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was among the first to comment among the Republicans: "The impeachment procedure against Hegseth is unfair, he is a great professional," he said on the sidelines of the G7 in Paris. Dem leader Hakeem Jeffries, however, declared himself "absolutely in favor" of the resolution. Many Republicans are furious with Hegseth, considered responsible for the party's heavy defeat in the elections and the main target of the post-midterms together with Elon Musk.