Donald Trump launched a fierce attack on Thomas Massie after the lame-duck congressman unveiled articles of impeachment against Pete Hegseth.
Massie cited alleged “high crimes and misdemeanors,” including the kidnapping of a foreign leader and violations of laws intended to reduce civilian casualties, as grounds for removing Hegseth.
Trump, who backed Massie’s successful primary challenger earlier this year, defended Hegseth while condemning the outgoing Kentucky Republican in a post on Truth Social.
“Defeated Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, a total loser, is trying to impeach perhaps the most popular and successful military official in the country, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth,” Trump wrote.
“With recruitment at an ALL-TIME HIGH, from an all-time low under Sleepy Joe Biden, and TWO VICTORIES, Venezuela and Iran, Pete Hegseth should be praised, not impeached.”
Trump’s anger was also on display during a White House press conference Monday, when Collins asked him about the impeachment effort targeting Hegseth.
“Massie’s a loser,” Trump said, interrupting Collins. “He’s a loser just like you at CNN.”
Several questions later, MS NOW reporter Vaughn Hillyard drew Trump’s attention after asking about the president’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Donald Trump attacked Thomas Massie on social media and during a surprise White House press briefing after the lame-duck congressman introduced articles of impeachment against Pete Hegseth
Massie cited alleged “high crimes and misdemeanors,” the kidnapping of a foreign leader and disregard for laws designed to limit civilian casualties among his reasons for seeking Hegseth’s removal
“Who are you with?” Trump responded.
Once the reporter identified his network, Trump turned his criticism toward the White House correspondent.
“MS Now gets the worst ratings … used to be MSDNC … you’re a fake network.”
“What a joke you are,” Trump added before moving on to another question.
Meanwhile, Massie used pointed humor as he delivered a sweeping criticism of Hegseth during a Capitol Hill press conference Monday.
“The reality is, we’re not indicting him for being bad at his job. In fact, he was very effective at killing schoolchildren in Iran. He was very effective at extrajudicial killings. There’s no argument in these impeachment articles that he’s ineffective. The argument here is that he’s broken laws and he’s violated the Constitution,” Massie said.
He continued: “I hope he addresses the eight articles and doesn’t get up and misquote the Bible in Quentin Tarantino fashion and do some pull-ups and call everybody fat and gay for being for this impeachment. I may have just given you half his speech.”
Hegseth has faced accusations that he borrowed a scene from Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction during a speech presented as a biblical quotation.
Massie later took to the House floor to read a 34-page impeachment resolution outlining the case against Hegseth.
Trump, who endorsed Massie’s successful primary challenger earlier this year, defended Hegseth while attacking the outgoing congressman in a Truth Social post
The Kentucky Republican, who has opposed Trump, also criticized Hegseth over restrictions placed on media access at the Pentagon.
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No Democrat has publicly indicated that they would oppose Massie’s resolution to impeach Hegseth.
Massie is seeking a vote this week, potentially on Wednesday, after Congress returns from recess following a disastrous midterm election showing for Republicans.
The focus now is on how many Republicans might support the measure after the party’s heavy losses in last week’s midterm elections.
With 214 Democrats in the House, only three additional Republicans are needed to join them for the impeachment resolution to pass. Massie is expected to be one of those votes, leaving at least two more Republicans to persuade.
Hegseth has dismissed Massie as “a disgruntled, defeated congressman” and accused him of presenting “sham articles of impeachment.”
But there are indications that Hegseth’s political support may be weakening beyond Massie’s campaign.
Kentucky Republican James Comer, a strong Trump ally and chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said the votes needed to impeach Hegseth could exist in the House this week, although he stopped short of saying how he would vote.
“We really didn’t know how to message what the exit strategy was, because I don’t think anybody in Congress knows what the exit strategy is,” Comer told Newsmax before discussing the possibility of an impeachment vote.
Hegseth has branded Massie “a disgruntled, defeated congressman” and accused him of submitting “sham articles of impeachment”
Massie is seeking a vote this week, likely Wednesday, after Congress returned from recess following a devastating midterm election result for Republicans
Arkansas Republican French Hill, whose deep-red district he represents but who won his race last week by only 4,405 votes, said he wanted to hear the arguments before deciding whether impeachment was warranted.
“I want to hear the debate on it to see if it merits impeachment versus some other disciplinary action or action by the president if he’s not getting the job done in leading the Department of War. That’s the issue,” Hill told CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation Sunday.
“If he’s not conducting his mission in the right way, then the president ought to make a change there.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is expected to become the next Speaker of the House, has offered his full support for Massie’s resolution.
“I’m a hard yes on the Hegseth resolution,” Jeffries told ABC’s This Week anchor Jonathan Karl on Sunday.
“The so-called Secretary of Defense has abused his power, undermined our national security and engineered this reckless and costly war of choice in Iran, which has skyrocketed prices on the American people and made the country less safe,” the top House Democrat said. “Pete Hegseth has got to go.”
Massie has accused Hegseth of committing “high crimes and misdemeanors” by continuing military operations in Iran even though Congress has not formally declared war in the region.
By introducing a privileged resolution, Massie is using a procedural mechanism that can force the House to consider the issue without sending it through the usual committee process.
He employed a similar strategy last year to compel a vote on releasing the Epstein files, resisting pressure from Republican leaders to abandon his transparency effort. Massie has said he would withdraw the impeachment push only if Hegseth resigns.
A simple majority is required for the House to approve an impeachment resolution, while conviction in a Senate trial requires a two-thirds majority.
