WASHINGTON--Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, calls himself the secretary of war, part of his effort to rebrand a military he said was too weak and "woke" when he took office last year. Now, with an expected House impeachment vote this week, he could soon share something in common with an actual secretary of war.
William Belknap, who held that title in 1876, became the first, and to date only, civilian leader of the US military to be impeached by Congress.
US Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, introduced eight articles of impeachment on Monday, setting off a two-day clock for a potential House vote on charges including waging war against Iran without congressional approval and other abuses of power. Massie, addressing reporters, cautioned that Republican leadership could try to avoid a straight vote on impeachment by trying to dismiss it with a procedural motion.
"They may try to get out of an actual vote on the substance of this. We should have a vote and a rigorous debate on these eight articles of impeachment," he told a press conference.
Congressional sources say the resolution may have the votes to pass even with President Donald Trump’s Republicans still controlling the House until Democrats take over on January 3. Conviction appears unlikely in the Senate, however, where a two-thirds majority is required and Republicans hold 53 of 100 seats.
President Donald Trump, in an interview with Reuters on Monday, strongly defended Hegseth, pointing to the US military's performance in Iran and Venezuela: "Well, he won two wars. I don't know how you can impeach him."
House Speaker Mike Johnson opposed the effort, saying impeachment “in the middle of hostilities abroad” would be “a terrible thing for our allies and our enemies to see.”
Voter anger over the war helped Democrats win control of Congress in last week's midterm elections, intensifying Republican divisions over a conflict that Vice President JD Vance has publicly questioned and Hegseth has defended as “courageous and historic.”
Accused of taking huge kickbacks, Belknap handed President Ulysses Grant his resignation ahead of his scheduled impeachment vote and, according to a Senate history, “burst into tears.” The House impeached him anyway, but the Senate later acquitted him after falling short of the required two-thirds majority. By contrast, Hegseth is promising to stay and fight.
