What a total masshole, that Thomas guy! The House voted Tuesday night to kill Rep. Thomas Massie’s impeachment push against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and the whole episode went about as well for Massie as his primary race did. Which is to say, not well at all.
Hegseth came out swinging earlier in the day at the Pentagon, calling the effort a “farce” and a “political spectacle” driven by one man’s bruised ego. “What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, and it’s not accountability. It’s a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment,” Hegseth said. He also made clear he saw the whole thing for what it was: “It’s a farce, and it’s a stunt, and everybody knows it.”
Massie, a Kentucky Republican who lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger and is heading home in January, introduced updated articles of impeachment accusing Hegseth of abusing his office by launching the Iran war without congressional approval, ignoring laws on civilian casualties, and retaliating against Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, among other charges. Because nothing says “legacy” like filing paperwork on your way out the door. You can read more about the Hegseth impeachment vote and how the day unfolded.
House Speaker Mike Johnson was not having it. “You don’t impeach a Cabinet secretary lightly,” Johnson told reporters. “They had no due process. There’s nothing that went into this. This is just purely for people to get attention, and it’s shameful.” Johnson also warned that impeaching a Cabinet secretary “in the middle of hostilities abroad would be a terrible, terrible look.”
President Trump, never one to stay quiet when a friend needs backup, went to Truth Social and let it rip. Pete Hegseth gets an ‘A’ PLUS, PLUS, PLUS for his defense against a disgruntled, angry, defeated, former Congressman, Thomas Massie, a TOTAL LOSER!” the president wrote. Earlier, Trump had called Massie a “stone-cold loser” and defended Hegseth by pointing out, “Pete Hegseth won two wars.”
Hegseth noted that the House never moved to impeach his predecessor, Biden’s Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, which is a fun detail the mainstream media will absolutely not dwell on. He also compared the effort to Trump’s two impeachments, saying, “If standing with President Trump puts me in that company, I’ll take that company every day of the week.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries was predictably thrilled, calling himself a “hard yes” and describing Hegseth as the “architect of the reckless and costly failed war of choice in Iran.” Democrats love nothing more than a political stunt dressed up as constitutional duty, so naturally they were all in. Massie admitted Monday he had zero commitments from other Republicans to back him, which tells you everything.
The resolution is now dead, Massie is still a lame duck, and Hegseth is still running the Pentagon. The only question now is whether Massie’s farewell tour gets any more embarrassing before January, though at this rate, he’s really setting a high bar.
