Donald Trump launched a fierce attack on Thomas Massie after the lame-duck congressman introduced articles of impeachment against Pete Hegseth.
Massie cited “high crimes and misdemeanors,” the alleged kidnapping of a foreign leader and violations of laws intended to limit civilian casualties among his reasons for seeking Hegseth’s removal.
Trump, who endorsed Massie’s successful primary challenger earlier this year, defended Hegseth while denouncing the outgoing Kentucky Republican in a post on Truth Social.
“Defeated Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, a total loser, is trying to impeach perhaps the most popular and successful military official in the country, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth,” Trump wrote.
“With recruitment at an ALL-TIME HIGH, after reaching an all-time low under Sleepy Joe Biden, and TWO VICTORIES, Venezuela and Iran, Pete Hegseth should be praised, not impeached.”
Trump’s anger was also on display during a surprise White House press briefing Monday, when Collins asked him about the impeachment effort targeting Hegseth.
“Massie’s a loser,” Trump said, speaking over Collins. “He’s a loser just like you at CNN.”
Several questions later, MS NOW correspondent Vaughn Hillyard became the focus of Trump’s criticism after asking about the president’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Donald Trump attacked Thomas Massie on social media and during a surprise White House press briefing after the lame-duck congressman introduced articles of impeachment against Pete Hegseth
Massie cited “high crimes and misdemeanors,” the alleged kidnapping of a foreign leader and violations of laws intended to limit civilian casualties among his reasons for seeking Hegseth’s removal
“Who are you with?” Trump shot back.
After Hillyard identified his network, Trump continued his attack on the White House correspondent.
“MS NOW gets the worst ratings … used to be MSDNC … you’re a fake network.”
“What a joke you are,” Trump added before moving on to another question.
Massie, meanwhile, used pointed humor as he went after Hegseth during a Capitol Hill news conference Monday.
“The reality is, we’re not indicting him for being bad at his job. In fact, he was very effective at killing schoolchildren in Iran. He was very effective at extrajudicial killings. There’s no argument in these impeachment articles that he’s ineffective. The argument here is that he’s broken laws and violated the Constitution,” Massie said.
He added: “I hope he addresses the eight articles and doesn’t get up and misquote the Bible in Quentin Tarantino fashion, do some pull-ups and call everybody fat and gay for supporting this impeachment. I may have just given you half his speech.”
Hegseth has been accused of incorporating a scene from Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction into a speech that was presented as a quotation from the Bible.
Massie later took to the House floor to read a 34-page impeachment resolution against Hegseth.
Trump, who endorsed Massie’s successful primary challenger earlier this year, defended Hegseth while attacking the outgoing congressman in a Truth Social post
The anti-Trump Kentucky Republican also criticized Hegseth for sharply restricting media access to the Pentagon.
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No Democrat has publicly indicated that they oppose backing Massie’s resolution to impeach Hegseth.
Massie is seeking a vote on the measure this week, most likely Wednesday, after Congress returned from its recess following a midterm election rout for Republicans.
The central question is how many Republicans will support the impeachment effort after the party’s heavy losses in last week’s midterm elections.
With 214 Democrats in the House, just three additional Republicans would need to join them for the impeachment resolution to pass. Massie is one of those votes, meaning at least two more Republicans would have to support the measure.
Hegseth has dismissed Massie as a “disgruntled, defeated congressman” and accused him of filing “sham articles of impeachment.”
Still, there are indications that Hegseth’s Republican support may be weakening beyond Massie.
Kentucky Republican James Comer, a close Trump ally and chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said the votes to impeach Hegseth could exist in the House this week. He stopped short, however, of committing to support the resolution himself.
“We really didn’t know how to message what the exit strategy was, because I don’t think anybody in Congress knows what the exit strategy is,” Comer told Newsmax before addressing the possibility of an impeachment vote.
Hegseth has described Massie as a “disgruntled, defeated congressman” and accused him of filing “sham articles of impeachment”
Massie is seeking a vote on the resolution this week, likely Wednesday, after Congress returned following a midterm election rout for Republicans
Arkansas Republican French Hill, who represents a deeply conservative district but won his race by only 4,405 votes last week, told CBS News that he wanted to hear the debate over impeaching Hegseth.
“I want to hear the debate on it to see if it merits impeachment versus some other disciplinary action or action by the president if he’s not getting the job done in leading the Department of War. That’s the issue,” Hill told CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation Sunday.
“If he’s not conducting his mission in the right way, then the president ought to make a change there.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is likely to become the next speaker of the House of Representatives, has fully endorsed Massie’s impeachment resolution.
“I’m a hard yes on the Hegseth resolution,” Jeffries told ABC’s This Week anchor Jonathan Karl on Sunday.
“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 driven up prices for the American people and made the country less safe,” the top House Democrat said. He added: “Pete Hegseth has got to go.”
Massie has accused Hegseth of committing “high crimes and misdemeanors” by continuing military operations in Iran even though Congress never formally declared a conflict in the region.
By introducing a privileged resolution, Massie has used a procedural mechanism that can force the issue to the House floor without sending it through the usual committee process.
He used a similar strategy last year to compel a vote on releasing the Epstein files, resisting pressure from Republican leaders to abandon his transparency campaign. Massie has also said he would withdraw the impeachment effort only if Hegseth resigns.
A simple majority is required for the House to approve an impeachment resolution, while two-thirds of the Senate must vote to convict during a trial.