> Will Hegseth be impeached? Republicans are ready to try

Hegseth looks likely to face a forced impeachment vote in the U.S. House soon, via a resolution from U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, an outspoken Republican critic who recently advanced articles to accuse the Defense secretary of "operating in contravention of three specific provisions of the War Powers Resolution of 1973."

Massie's eight articles touch on not just Iran, but also accuse Hegseth of "ignoring laws that minimize civilian casualties," "unauthorized lethal military targeting of suspected drug traffickers," "suppressing free speech" to retaliate against U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat and retired Navy aviator who said military members don't have to follow illegal orders, "kidnapping" former Venezuela dictator Nicol*s Maduro and his wife, and "unlawful strikes" on the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Hegseth, whose focus has always been combative social media messaging and branding, responded on Nov. 5 with a nearly six-minute video chock-full of his standard hard-right, culture-war rhetorical slop. Hegseth praised the war in Iran as "a courageous and historic effort" and demanded that "every patriotic member of Congress" approve a $350 billion boost in funding for the Department of Defense. Hegseth also claimed his video about himself was "not about me," while knocking Massie's impeachment effort as "political theater."

U.S. Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican who has used his chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to advance Trump's efforts at retribution against perceived enemies, was asked in a Nov. 6 NewsNation interview if Trump should dump Hegseth. He didn't offer a ringing endorsement.

"I can tell you with a high level of confidence that there's a lot of questions about Hegseth," Comer said. "We have no idea what the strategy is moving forward on Iran. No one's happy about Iran."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/ … 627120007/