President Donald Trump said Thursday that Democratic talk of impeaching Secretary of War Pete Hegseth if they win the House in next week’s midterms is “terrible,” saying Democrats “talk about impeaching everybody” and that “if we wanted to play that game, we could play it just as well,” as he called Hegseth “a great warrior” before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews.
“I think it’s terrible. All they do is they talk about impeaching everybody. I mean, honestly, if we wanted to play that game, we could play it just as well, but they’re talking about Pete Hegseth. He’s doing a great job. He’s a great warrior; I think he’s the best at his job in many, many years and a lot of people agree with that,” Trump said. The Department of War’s rapid-response account later shared the exchange in a Department of War post that highlighted Trump calling Hegseth “A GREAT WARRIOR.”
The question that prompted Trump’s answer referred to growing Democratic and some Republican pressure to remove Hegseth over the Iran war and other operations. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, read eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth on the House floor on Sept. 15, according to the Congressional Record. The articles accuse Hegseth of waging war on Iran without congressional authorization under the War Powers Resolution, of ordering lethal strikes on alleged drug boats, of retaliating against Sen. Mark Kelly, of directing the seizure of Nicolás Maduro, and of unauthorized operations in Yemen, among other charges, according to Massie’s press release.
The House left Washington without a vote. On Oct. 26 Massie told Roll Call reporters he would force a vote the week of Nov. 9 “if he’s still in the job,” calling it a “week one” lame-duck issue and saying he gives passage “better than a 50 percent chance.” Speaker Mike Johnson on Sept. 16 called Massie’s effort “a publicity stunt by someone who wants attention” and said Hegseth “has done an extraordinary job at the Department of War,” the Washington Examiner reported.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Saturday that Hegseth “needs to be pushed aside by the president, or we’re going to have to deal with that situation if he is not,” MS NOW reported, while stopping short of endorsing Massie’s articles. Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, a former Army Ranger, told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that Hegseth is “my priority number one if we retake the majority, to make sure we oust him from the Pentagon,” according to the CBS News transcript. Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson, responding to Massie’s September push, told Military.com reporters: “Secretary Hegseth has been a transformative leader for the Department of War. Standards and merit are back, our arsenal is stronger than ever before, and morale and recruitment across every service are at all-time highs.”
The Iran conflict that underpins much of the impeachment talk began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28. As of Oct. 28, the Defense Casualty Analysis System listed 15 deaths under Operation Epic Fury and 7 deaths under Overseas Operations, for a combined total of 22 U.S. deaths. Stars and Stripes, citing a Pentagon estimate provided to Congress, reported the Defense Department’s war cost figure as $47.1 billion as of Oct. 16.
Reporting in recent days has also tied Hegseth’s standing to possible renewed Iran operations after the Nov. 3 midterms. The New York Times reported on Oct. 21, citing U.S. officials and others briefed on the deliberations, that the U.S. and Israeli militaries had developed specific plans for “a short but intensive operation” against Iran after the American elections, and that Hegseth met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel that week to discuss new strikes. The Times also reported that Trump has repeatedly vetoed plans for a return to major combat, and a White House official told the paper the administration does not comment on military plans “that may or may not exist.” A Semafor report, citing an administration official, said Thursday that if diplomacy fails the United States is ready to resume combat operations shortly after the midterms and that “All they’ll need is a go order from the president.” ABC News, citing Israeli sources, reported on Oct. 22 that one source said, “Hunting season is open as soon as the elections end and it’s obvious that they’re not going to wait long.” The Pentagon declined to comment to ABC.
Separately in the same Andrews gaggle, a reporter asked Trump whether he had heard that Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia “leaked classified information at the Pentagon.” Trump replied, “She’s got problems. She’s going to have big problems. She did — we’re very much looking for leakers, and she’s going to have big problems, long-term problems,” according to the Factba.se transcript. Trump referred to Sylvia, who is a man, as “she.” The Pentagon’s public affairs chief, Sean Parnell, said the same day that after an Air Force Office of Special Investigations probe the department “took necessary personnel action” and referred the matter, “along with others,” to the Justice Department, in a statement on X that did not name Sylvia. A defense official told The Washington Post that Parnell’s statement related to Sylvia’s removal, and a colleague told the paper that Sylvia has repeatedly denied leaking classified information. No charges have been announced.
Trump’s suggestion that Republicans “could play” an impeachment “game” was not tied to any filed resolution, and his praise of Hegseth as “the best at his job in many, many years” is his own assessment, shared by Johnson and the Pentagon and rejected by Crow and Jeffries. The most concrete impeachment effort so far comes from a Republican, Massie, whose articles have not yet received a House vote. Democrats have not filed articles of impeachment against Hegseth, and any such effort in the next Congress would depend on the outcome of the Nov. 3 elections.