The Republican Party’s stunning defeat in the United States midterm elections on Tuesday has prompted calls from within the Trump administration and from its critics for accountability over a focus of voter discontent: the US-Israel war on Iran. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appears to have emerged as a central target of those demands since the Democrats’ sweeping victory, in which they won control of both chambers of Congress. Some Republican lawmakers and other critics have argued that the Pentagon chief played a leading role in convincing US President Donald Trump to attack Iran with no exit strategy.
On Wednesday, Congressman Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky who has repeatedly locked horns with Trump and his aides, called on Hegseth to resign. An impeachment vote in the House could come as soon as next week. If that happens, Hegseth’s fate would be decided by a Congress still dominated by the Republicans, with new members elected this week only taking office in January.
But some reports suggest that Republican lawmakers are increasingly inclined to push Hegseth out of the Pentagon. Trump, who has described the defense secretary as a champion of the Iran war, told reporters on Wednesday that he was not considering replacing him. The Republican congressman filed eight impeachment accusations in September against Hegseth.
In an interview with CNN, he said he plans to trigger a vote when Congress returns next week. The US news outlet said multiple Republican sources said they expect it to pass. Massie lost his Republican House primary in May and only has the current session of Congress to pursue the impeachment.
He argued that Hegseth’s “constitutional violations extend beyond the illegal war in Iran.” “He is abusing the power of his office to ignore congressional war powers resolutions, to kidnap foreign leaders and to intimidate critics of the Trump administration by retaliating against them for exercising free speech,” Massie said. In January, the US abducted then-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and brought them to New York to face trial on charges including drug trafficking — accusations they deny. Venezuela has since effectively been a US protectorate, with its economy and unmatched oil reserves controlled from Washington.
Massie, who lost to a primary challenger backed by the president, has long been at odds with Trump. Aside from being critical of the war on Iran, he has denounced the president’s military support for Israel, pushed for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files and voted against Trump’s signature tax legislation. Many Republicans remain unwilling to directly blame Trump for the midterm defeat, yet they recognise the war in Iran as the main reason for the electoral wipeout.
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