Trump supporters attending the GOP midterm convention in Dallas dismissed Democratic calls to impeach War Secretary Pete Hegseth—but the political threat could become more serious after the elections.
For now, Democrats lack the votes to impeach Hegseth because Republicans control the House of Representatives.
That balance of power could shift in January if Democrats win the House in the midterm elections. Such a victory would allow them to move forward with impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump’s top Pentagon official.
Even then, removing Hegseth from office would require support from two-thirds of the Senate.
The possibility comes as several polls point to a Democratic advantage heading into the midterm campaign.
A CBS News/YouGov survey released Sunday showed Democrats ahead of Republicans by 54 percent to 46 percent on the generic congressional ballot. Other nationwide polls have likewise found Democrats with an edge.
Micki Larson-Olson, an Iraq War veteran and January 6 participant who was arrested after refusing police orders to leave the Capitol grounds, said Democrats currently lacked the authority to remove Hegseth. She spent 161 days in jail before receiving a pardon from President Trump.
“The Democrats can’t do anything,” she said, arguing that the party had no power to carry out the impeachment effort.
Micki Larson-Olson, who was pardoned by President Trump after her January 6 arrest, dismissed the Democrats’ ability to impeach Secretary Hegseth
House Democrats are calling for Congress to impeach and remove Hegseth over concerns involving civilian casualties, military preparedness and transparency at the Pentagon
One convention attendee said Democrats were focusing on Hegseth because their main point of unity was opposition to Trump rather than a shared political program
“They can’t impeach someone without a basis,” Larson-Olson said. “You have to show that he violated the Constitution or committed some other serious wrongdoing.”
She likened the push against Hegseth to previous attempts to impeach Trump, saying Democrats had repeatedly filed impeachment measures against the president.
Her remarks captured the broader mood among Trump supporters in Dallas, many of whom said an impeachment campaign would not alter their opinion of Hegseth.
Joanne Chen Bryant said she was just as unconcerned about the effort.
‘Democrats want to impeach everybody,’ she said. ‘So, you know, the fact that they want to impeach him doesn’t really hold too much water for me.’
Bryant said she trusted Hegseth because of his military background and the sensitive information available to him as secretary.
‘I know Pete’s background, and I know he’s a highly intelligent person,’ she said. ‘He has access to deeply secret and intelligent information that isn’t open to the regular citizen like me. And I trust him.’
Another attendee, Tracy, dismissed the effort as simply part of the political process.
A Republican supporter at the Republican convention in Dallas on September 10
The RNC had expected more than 20,000 people to attend the two-day convention, although the party did not release a final attendance figure
‘Isn’t that what Democrats do, is impeach people? Or try to?’ she said. ‘I’m not concerned about it. Just another legal process to waste time and money on.’
Rusty Ramgopal went further, arguing that Democrats were increasingly defined by their opposition to Trump.
‘I think the Democrats are saying that because they really don’t know what they’re about other than simply opposition to Trump or the Trump administration,’ he said.
‘The only thing that Democrats agree on is that they hate Donald Trump and hate the people around Donald Trump.’
Ramgopal also argued that impeachment had become too partisan.
‘Impeachment is a constitutional process. It’s a legal process, constitutional process, and sadly it’s been cheapened into a partisan political process in the modern day,’ he said.
Democrats introduced six articles of impeachment against Hegseth in April, led by Arizona Representative Yassamin Ansari.
The resolution accuses him of, among other allegations, directing an unauthorized war against Iran, violating the law of armed conflict, mishandling sensitive military information, obstructing congressional oversight and abusing his office.
The articles also accuse Hegseth of conduct that allegedly brought disrepute upon the United States and its armed forces. The resolution was referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
But the effort has done little to unsettle the Trump supporters who gathered in Dallas last week, who largely portrayed the impeachment push as another partisan fight between the Trump administration and its Democratic opponents.
