Massie to trigger Hegseth impeachment resolution as Rubio denies exit reports
The White House has denied rumors that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio might leave their jobs in a post-election shakeup of the Trump administration, after Republican losses in this week’s midterm elections. US media have reported calls to replace Hegseth, in particular over his handling of the Iran war, which is being blamed for heavy Republican losses.
Trump and Vice President JD Vance have both blamed the Iran war for Republican losses that allowed Democrats full control of the US House of Representatives and the Senate. Vance said Republicans lost big because of the Iran war: “Everyone knows why we lost.”
In a telephone interview with ABC News, Trump said he had received “calls about” Hegseth but added that he had “every intention” of keeping him. Later on Thursday, he told reporters at the White House that “Pete Hegseth has done a fantastic job,” listing what he described as achievements including the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January and the Iran war, now in its ninth month.
Rubio, meanwhile, denied reports that he is considering leaving his post ahead of a 2028 presidential run. Working for Trump until the end of his term has “always been my plan,” Rubio told The New York Times in an interview. “I love the work I’m doing,” he said. “And plus I always laugh when they say he’s going to leave his job. I go, ‘Which one?’”
The White House and the US State Department also shut down reports that Rubio might be leaving after this week’s midterm losses, with both calling the reports “fake news.”
The Washington Post reported on Thursday that Trump might, however, be considering ousting Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, or Adm. Brad Cooper, the chief of Centcom. Both played significant roles in offering guidance on the war, which started eight months ago.
Hegseth, though, faces a more uncertain political future. Outgoing Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, a frequent critic of Trump, said he will push ahead with plans to seek Hegseth’s impeachment, and told the news site Politico that he will trigger his resolution to impeach the defense secretary early next week.
On X, Massie warned that the president should replace Hegseth before a new Democratic-controlled Congress forms in January. “He should do it while he can still get the replacements confirmed in the Senate,” Massie wrote.
Hegseth posted a video statement defending his record and denouncing the effort. “You see, they attack me. They attack us because we are effective,” he said. “It’s not going to work. We will not back down.”
In the video, Hegseth denounced the “sham articles of impeachment” effort against him from a “disgruntled, defeated congressman, along with all his Democrat allies,” and listed ways the department has fulfilled Trump’s America First agenda under his leadership. That included, he said, reviving military recruitment, rebuilding the defense industrial base, and rooting out diversity initiatives.
“Their policies don’t work. So their obsession with political theatre disguised as power drives them to try to destroy their opponents. It’s all about the politics of personal destruction,” he said of the Democrats.
Hegseth has also been rumored to be interested in running for an open Tennessee Senate seat.