Rep. French Hill, a Republican who secured a narrow seventh term in heavily conservative Arkansas, declined Sunday to rule out supporting impeachment proceedings against War Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“I want to hear the debate and determine whether impeachment is warranted, or whether some other disciplinary measure or presidential action is more appropriate if he is failing to lead the Department of War effectively,” Hill told CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”
Hill, 69, also told host Margaret Brennan that he was not satisfied with the way the war had been managed.
“That said, I believe the commander in chief must accept responsibility for the strategy behind the war and the way it has been carried out,” Hill said. “But I will say this: No one in America wants Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.”
The House is expected to consider an impeachment resolution against Hegseth this week. The measure was introduced by lame-duck Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who has vowed to press ahead unless Hegseth, a former Fox News host, resigns.
Massie submitted eight articles of impeachment in September, but lawmakers never voted on them after Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., abruptly ended the session before the midterm elections.
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Democrats captured both chambers of Congress on Tuesday, with Republicans increasingly pointing to the Iran war and the resulting surge in gas prices as major factors in their defeat.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who is expected to become the next speaker, said before the election that forcing Hegseth out would be among the Democrats’ first priorities.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told Newsmax on Friday that it was “very possible” lawmakers had enough votes to impeach Hegseth. If successful, Hegseth would become only the third Cabinet secretary in US history to face that distinction.
Removing Hegseth from office would require approval from two-thirds of the Senate.
In a video posted online Thursday, Hegseth labeled the impeachment articles a “sham” advanced by a “disgruntled, defeated congressman, along with all his Democrat allies.”
Hill won Tuesday’s election by approximately 4,400 votes, a sharp contrast with his 2024 victory, when he captured his sixth term by nearly 55,000 votes.