Massie Maneuver Forces House To Vote This Week on Impeaching Hegseth

An outgoing Republican congressman, Thomas Massie, is forcing the House of Representatives to vote on eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.Mr. Massie claims that Mr. Hegseth is violating three provisions of the War Powers Resolution of 1973. Other articles of impeachment he unveiled on Tuesday accuse the secretary of ignoring laws designed to minimize civilian casualties and of committing extrajudicial killings. The latter charge relates to the lethal targeting of at least 221 suspected drug dealers.Another charge claims that Mr. Hegseth suppressed free speech by trying to retaliate against and intimidate Senator Mark Kelly after the Arizona Democrat advised soldiers to question unlawful military orders.The seventh charge accuses Mr. Hegseth of acting without constitutional or legal authority to kidnap a sovereign foreign leader regarding the operation that ended in the capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.Finally, Mr. Massie accuses the defense secretary of carrying out an unlawful war in Yemen.“Secretary Hegseth’s constitutional violations extend beyond the illegal war in Iran. He is abusing the power of his office to ignore congressional war powers resolutions, to kidnap foreign leaders, and to intimidate critics of the Trump administration by retaliating against them for exercising free speech,” Mr. Massie said in a statement.Attorney General Todd Blanche rolled his eyes when a reporter asked him about the articles of impeachment. “Secretary Hegseth is doing a phenomenal job and the Secretary of War doesn’t just go off and do things, so he follows the law,” Mr. Blanche said at a White House briefing.Mr. Massie, a libertarian-aligned lawmaker from Kentucky, has regularly tangled with President Trump. He opposed a $2 trillion pandemic-era stimulus bill during Mr. Trump’s first administration. More recently, Mr. Massie helped lead a successful effort to force the Justice Department to release the Epstein files.Mr. Massie lost his Republican primary in May after Mr. Trump threw his support behind the congressman’s opponent, Navy SEAL and farmer Ed Gallrein.The Pentagon did not address Mr. Massie’s accusations when asked for comment but called Mr. Hegseth a “transformative leader” who has slashed bureaucracy and delivered for warfighters. “The entire Department is unified behind the Secretary’s vision and will continue working to put our warfighters and America first,” the Pentagon press secretary, Kingsley Wilson, said in an emailed statement.Mr. Massie filed the articles of impeachment using a maneuver that will force a vote within two days. There are enough Republican votes in the House to reject the articles, but making members go on the record could create a headache for GOP members seeking reelection in competitive districts.Mr. Massie’s push to impeach Mr. Hegseth comes as Congressman Al Green, who lost his own primary vote, created a headache for fellow Democrats by forcing a vote on whether to impeach Mr. Trump for a third time. The House impeached Mr. Trump twice during his first term when Democrats were in the majority.

Massie Maneuver Forces House To Vote This Week on Impeaching Hegseth

Massie Maneuver Forces House To Vote This Week on Impeaching Hegseth

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