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Comer Acknowledges GOP Questions About Hegseth Ahead of Impeachment Push
Confirmed
In Short: House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) acknowledged Friday that Republican lawmakers have 'a lot of questions' about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) prepares to push for his impeachment next week.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) acknowledged Friday that Republican lawmakers have 'a lot of questions' about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) prepares to push for his impeachment next week. Comer's comments came during an appearance on NewsNation, where he was asked about Hegseth's leadership and the potential for a new defense chief.
Comer did not explicitly indicate how he would vote if the House holds an impeachment vote but said a new defense chief would have to be up to President Donald Trump. 'Well, that’s going to be a decision that President Trump’s going to have to make,' Comer said, 'but I can tell you that there’s a lot of questions about Hegseth.'
Hegseth dismissed the impeachment push as 'political theater' from Massie and the Democrats, claiming from the Democrat perspective, it was over his decision to end their priorities such as DEI initiatives at the Pentagon. 'Just like they tried against President Trump twice,' Hegseth said in a video posted on Thursday, 'you see, their policies don’t work, so their obsession with political theater disguised as power drives them to try to destroy their opponents. It’s all about the politics of personal destruction.'
Comer's admission comes as Democrats prepare to take over control of the House next year, following a major blue wave in the midterm elections this week. 'No one’s happy about Iran, and I think the Republican voters are more upset about what’s going on in Iran than the Democrat voters,' Comer said, pointing to frustrations with gas prices and the administration's handling of the conflict as reasons why GOP supporters stayed home on Election Day.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), a prominent House war hawk, said Thursday that Hegseth should not be leading the Pentagon, questioning his judgment and what he described as the secretary’s lack of a moral compass. 'I wouldn’t have voted to confirm him,' Bacon said, adding that Hegseth’s conduct bothered military veterans who had spent their careers taking responsibility for their actions.
Hegseth is also expected to face an impeachment salvo in the lame-duck session from Massie, who said he would reintroduce articles of impeachment against the Pentagon chief. 'There is one contingency in which I won’t reintroduce the articles of impeachment: Hegseth resigns,' Massie wrote on X.
Multiple House Republicans have privately told CNN that they can foresee the impeachment effort passing, with another lawmaker bluntly telling Fox, 'He’s screwed.' Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) said to The Washington Post, 'The secretary’s job is to build alliances at home and abroad to protect America.'
Tillis said Hegseth’s strained relationship with lawmakers has become a liability as the administration attempts to secure support for its proposed $1.5 trillion defense spending package. 'People that have been MAGA for the last 12 years, they had MAGA flags in their yard, wore MAGA caps. I mean, they are mad that we’re in this situation in Iran. They’re mad over gas prices, and a lot of them stayed home,' Comer said.
What this adds
Republicans are increasingly turning on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after the party’s midterm wipeout, with several lawmakers questioning his leadership and one warning he has a reckoning coming as the House prepares for a potential impeachment vote next week.
What's confirmed
- “Just like they tried against President Trump twice. You see, their policies don’t work, so their obsession with political theater disguised as power drives them to try to destroy their opponents. It’s all about the politics of personal destruction,” Hegseth said in a video posted on Thursday.
What's still developing
- Trump has publicly defended Hegseth, saying he was not considering replacing the defense secretary and that Hegseth is “ doing a very good job.”.
- Meanwhile, talks of impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have entered GOP circles after their midterm losses, deepening the intraparty rift over his performance.
- Comer said he did not believe that Trump supporters necessarily crossed party lines when voting, but simply sat the election out — leaving Republicans with the task of winning back their trust.
- Thom Tillis (R-NC.), another longtime critic of Hegseth, warned Wednesday that the defense secretary has “a reckoning” coming.