Democrats are preparing to ramp up congressional scrutiny of the Trump administration after sweeping both chambers in the midterm elections, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth already facing an impeachment push and Attorney General Todd Blanche emerging as another potential target. Hegseth could face an impeachment vote as soon as next week, with Republican Representative Thomas Massie planning to force a House vote on articles of impeachment when lawmakers return to Washington. Massie reiterated his plans Thursday, suggesting President Donald Trump should replace Hegseth “while he can still get the replacements confirmed in the Senate.” “Also, my Hegseth impeachment resolution is a much gentler version of what's coming when Dem's control Congress.
They'll have hearings & trials,” Massie wrote on X. Hegseth has pushed back against the impeachment effort, calling the articles a "sham" and comparing them to the two impeachment proceedings against Trump. "Didn't work against President Trump, and it won't work with me.
You can rest assured of that," Hegseth said in a lengthy video posted to X Thursday. He also accused Democrats and what he called "deep state radicals" of pursuing "the politics of personal destruction." Trump defended Hegseth on Thursday, telling reporters the defense secretary had done a “fantastic job” when asked about possible staffing changes. The president also said he believed it would take Iran 25 years to rebuild from the war.
Representative Jamie Raskin, the Maryland Democrat expected to chair the House Judiciary Committee, said Thursday that Blanche could also face impeachment hearings. Raskin accused the Justice Department under Blanche of pursuing Trump's political opponents while failing to adequately address other matters, including the Jeffrey Epstein files. "Look at all of the fraudulent prosecutions that they've engaged in against people like James Comey, like Letitia James, like Adam Schiff, like Mark Kelly, like Maggie Goodlander and Jason Crow, and on and on," Raskin told MS NOW on Thursday.
"The Department of Justice has clearly become a Department of Injustice — an instrument of revenge, political revenge for the president," he said. At least two other House Democrats have raised the prospect of impeaching Blanche. Representative Hank Johnson, a Georgia Democrat, said he believes the attorney general's conduct warrants impeachment and removal from office.
"I personally believe that the offenses of Todd Blanche demand that he be impeached and convicted and removed from office," Johnson said on SiriusXM's The Dan Abrams Show. "I think his efforts to undermine the rule of law can't go unaddressed." Representative Deborah Ross, a North Carolina Democrat, also voiced support for impeachment, while saying lawmakers should begin with Hegseth. Asked whether she supported impeaching Blanche, Ross said "100%" before adding: "I think we should start with Hegseth." No formal impeachment resolution against Blanche has been announced.
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