Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., the outgoing congressman who filed impeachment articles against War Secretary Pete Hegseth, predicted Monday that the Pentagon chief will be gone before 2027.
Appearing on CNN’s “The Source,” Massie told host Kaitlan Collins he sees a high probability that Hegseth won’t make it to Dec. 31.
Earlier Monday, Massie filed eight articles of impeachment accusing Hegseth of offenses including waging war without congressional authorization and carrying out extrajudicial killings. The articles focus mostly on the Iran war but also cite strikes on alleged drug boats.
Asked about President Trump’s vow to stand by Hegseth, Massie was unmoved.
“They stand by them until the day they don’t,” he said.
Collins pressed Massie on polling that suggests impeachment is not popular with many Republicans. Massie said it isn’t a popularity contest and insisted he did not file the articles because he believed Hegseth was ineffective or because he disagreed with his policies. Instead, he argued, the case is that Hegseth was effective at violating the law and the Constitution. He said he doubted Trump had read the articles.
Massie described his effort as relatively polite. He said he was not proposing prison time or civil liability for Hegseth, only that he lose his job now, and warned that Democrats would be far less polite when they take control in January.
The Kentucky Republican also predicted that GOP lawmakers who are retiring or who won by narrow margins could cross party lines on the vote, saying they are worried about how the Iran war could play out over the next two years. He expected a vote Tuesday evening or Wednesday.
Massie argued that Republicans earned their midterm losses by failing to respond to voters, including on ending the Iran war. He said it was not Hegseth’s fault that the party lost dozens of seats, instead blaming GOP lawmakers who declined to vote to rein in the president’s war powers.
Massie lost his primary earlier this year to a Trump-backed challenger and has said he would not pursue impeachment if Hegseth resigns.
Hegseth hit back Tuesday at a Pentagon press conference, calling the effort a “farce” and a “stunt.” Trump also blasted Massie on Truth Social, calling him a disgruntled, defeated former congressman and a “TOTAL LOSER.”
