CLOCK IS TICKING

Republican Rep Ramps Up Pressure on Trump to Fire Hegseth

There are growing calls for the president to fire the defense secretary.

Outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie is upping his pressure campaign for President Donald Trump to fire Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Some Republicans are looking for someone to blame for the disastrous midterm results and claim the war in Iran explains how they lost both the House and the Senate by large margins.

Massie, a leading GOP Trump critic, introduced his articles of impeachment against Hegseth in September, but he argued on Thursday that the best path forward would be Trump firing the controversial Cabinet member.

“If Trump’s going to replace appointees like Hegseth, he should do it while he can still get the replacements confirmed in the Senate,” Massie wrote.

“Also, my Hegseth impeachment resolution is a much gentler version of what’s coming when Dem’s control Congress. They’ll have hearings & trials,” he added.

It comes after Trump spoke to ABC News’ Jonathan Karl Thursday morning about Hegseth’s future in his administration and told him: “I have every intention to keep him.”

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But at the same time, the president acknowledged during their conversation that it would be easier to confirm a new defense secretary before Democrats take over the Senate majority in January.

Democrats picked up at least 54 seats in the Senate on Tuesday. The races in Alaska and Mississippi have not yet been called, so they could end up with as many as 56 seats in January.

While Republicans still have nearly two months in the majority, the Senate schedule through the end of the year includes just two days next week and then just four weeks in session before 2027.

That is enough time to hold a confirmation, but a lot would have to go smoothly for Trump to get a successful replacement in the lame-duck session, with a series of senators on their way out.

In the House, Massie is pushing ahead with his own articles of impeachment against Hegseth even as his time in Congress ticks down.

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He said the only move that would prevent him from reintroducing the resolution is if Hegseth resigned. It could also save him a brutal impeachment trial if those articles pass.

The GOP rebel Kentucky lawmaker’s eight articles of impeachment against the defense secretary accuse him of waging war in violation of the law, ignoring laws to minimize civilian casualties, suppressing free speech, and more.

The House also returns to Washington, D.C. next week for the first time in nearly eight weeks, after voters delivered a shellacking of Republicans in the midterms.

Massie told CNN he plans to trigger a vote on his articles when they return next week, and sources told CNN they expect it would pass.

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Democrats are also ready to zero in on Hegseth if he’s still in office when they take control in January, but pressure is building on their end too.

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is likely to become the next speaker, posted on X Thursday morning: “Why is Pete Hegseth still around?”

Speaking to reporters the day after the midterms while standing on the construction site of his White House ballroom, Trump said he did not intend to replace Hegseth and said he was doing a “very good job.”

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