Hegseth Faces Impeachment, Wars Go On: Same Machine, New Face

Representative Thomas Massie introduced articles of impeachment against US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday, one day ago, accusing him of violating the War Powers Resolution, the law that requires Congress to be consulted on and to oversee American military interventions. Hegseth answered by announcing a rare news conference for Tuesday. The war he's accused of mishandling is now in its ninth month.

Note what triggered the sudden concern. Hegseth is under pressure after President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance blamed the Iran war for the Republican Party's sweeping losses in the midterm elections. The war has been running for eight months. The reckoning arrived with the ballots.

The Charges, In Their Own Words

Massie's articles go beyond Iran. He accused Hegseth of using "our troops to go seize oil for large corporations in America." He pointed to the administration's refusal to acknowledge the bombing of a school in Iran. "I mean, obviously we hit it, and you can determine what kind of missiles from the range and the kind of destruction there was," Massie said. He added that he doesn't think they'll escape that article "by saying, 'Oh, we don't know who bombed that school' -- although I think the president tried that for a day or two."

The articles also reach back to last year's conflict with Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis, charging that Hegseth started the operation without congressional approval and without an imminent threat to the United States. Massie called the strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific "extrajudicial killings" and said Hegseth "chilled independent legal review within the Department of Defense." One article accuses Hegseth of retaliating against Democratic Senator Mark Kelly over a video in which Kelly and other lawmakers urged military and intelligence personnel to refuse illegal orders. In the article's words: "Using the powers of his office, Secretary Hegseth retaliated against and sought to intimidate United States Senator Mark Kelly for his statement."

Sit with that last one. A cabinet official is accused of using state power to punish people for telling soldiers to refuse illegal orders.

The Defense: Victory Lap

Hegseth's answer on Monday was to attack the motives of his critics. "There's a lot of politically motivated people who...may have substantial policy disagreements, but their disagreements are with success," he told reporters. He said he couldn't be prouder of "the courageous calls" made by the president, "the bold nature of our...military leadership, the skill and courage of the troops on the ground." In a video message last week he called the articles "sham articles of impeachment" and said: "It's all about the politics of personal destruction. Didn't work against President Trump, and it won't work with me."

He described the Iran conflict, which the reporting calls widely unpopular, as a "courageous and historic effort." Trump backed him, saying Hegseth had done a "good job" and "won" wars in Venezuela and Iran. That's a curious word for a conflict the reporting describes as unresolved, and for a Venezuelan operation that consisted of a raid capturing leader Nicolas Maduro in January. Asked what happens if Hegseth is impeached, Trump said: "Yeah, I'll stand by him."

The Reform Trap

The procedural reality is plain. The initiative is unlikely to succeed while Republicans control Congress, though Democrats have indicated they could pursue impeachment when they take control of both chambers in January. The man leading the push, Massie, is leaving office after losing a primary to a candidate backed by the president.

That's the channel on offer: a lame-duck legislator, a statute requiring "consultation" that was allegedly ignored, and a possible vote months from now, after the midterm results made the war politically costly. Eight months of bombing, a school struck, boats destroyed in the Caribbean and Pacific. Meanwhile the remedy is a personnel change at the top of the same chain of command, if it comes at all.

Hegseth will face reporters Tuesday. The people on the receiving end of the missiles won't get a news conference.