House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said he is a “hard yes” on supporting efforts to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, which are expected to be brought to a vote this week.
Asked in an interview on ABC’s “This Week” whether he would support Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., in his efforts to impeach Hegseth, Jeffries confirmed he supported the push.
“I’m a hard yes on the Hegseth resolution,” Jeffries said. “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.”
“Pete Hegseth has got to go,” he added.
Jeffries’ support is a major endorsement of impeachment efforts against Hegseth and signals how other House Democrats could ultimately vote on the measure. The impeachment push also tests how far lawmakers are willing to go to oust Hegseth after voters have given low marks to the administration’s handling of the war in Iran, which factored into the midterm election results.
Asked on ABC News whether Jeffries believed all other House Democrats would support the impeachment resolution, he said they would “have that conversation Tuesday morning.” The House is back in session this week, and the impeachment resolution is expected to be filed early this week, with a vote to follow.
Massie has been a vocal critic of Hegseth and the war in Iran. He previously filed a resolution to impeach Hegseth in September, but Republican leaders canceled planned votes, and the House left early, pushing the vote to after the election.
NBC News reported last week that President Donald Trump has told allies that he was considering replacing Hegseth. Trump, though, has publicly denied that he plans to replace Hegseth, telling reporters last week that he was “doing a very good job.”
At the same time, Hegseth has forcefully pushed back on Massie’s impeachment plans, referring to Massie in a social media video last week as a “disgruntled, defeated congressman.”
“It’s all about the politics of personal destruction,” Hegseth said in the video. “Didn’t work against President Trump, and it won’t work with me. You can rest assured of that.”
Massie, though, said on social media last week that his “Hegseth impeachment resolution is a much gentler version of what’s coming when Dem’s control Congress.” Democrats, Massie said, would “have hearings & trials.”
Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., also introduced a resolution to impeach Hegseth in April. In a post sharing Jeffries’ comments Sunday, Ansari said that Hegseth “must be held accountable.”
“Let’s get this to the floor and voted on this week,” she said in the post.