Name? Pete Hegseth
Westphalian identity? U.S. American
Age? 46
Why is he in the news? On Tuesday, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives blocked an impeachment vote against Secretary of Defense (or of War, as the Pentagon now calls itself) Pete Hegseth. They voted 211 to 204 to send Republican Thomas Massie’s eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth to the Judiciary Committee, effectively killing them. The articles centre on Hegseth’s handling of the war against Iran and U.S. strikes on boats in the Caribbean.
Why do we care? The vote was never about removing Hegseth. Massie, who lost his primary to a Trump-backed rival and leaves Congress in January, was the only Republican to vote against, sending a goodbye present to Trump. For the Democrats, it was about boxing in Trump. With Hegseth now part of the Trump impeachment saga, firing him before January would look like a concession. Hegseth joins the inner circle of Trump’s ‘witch hunt’ victims. Trump can no longer quietly sacrifice him over Iran and get ahead of the Democrats, who took control of both chambers. Trump underscored that by giving Hegseth an “‘A’ PLUS, PLUS, PLUS” for his defence against Massie and said that he would “stand by” him, even if he were impeached.
Why should you care? Even in January, Hegseth’s removal is unlikely. A simple House majority can impeach Hegseth, but convicting him takes two thirds of the Senate, meaning around a dozen Republican senators would have to break ranks. Until that happens, the man running the Iran war keeps his job.
Who else cares? Hakeem Jeffries, the incoming Speaker of the House. Eleven Democrats skipped the vote, handing Republicans their margin. That lets Jeffries argue that Republicans did not “get the message” from the midterms and still choose their tribe over voters. He already promised that “this is not the end.”
Any further comments? Hegseth survived his first impeachment because his enemies wanted him to.
