An impeachment vote for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tops Congress’ lame-duck agenda.
Watch Hegseth’s remarks at the Naval War College in the video player above.
The House and Senate are in session for just six short weeks of a lame-duck sprint to finish up the Republican agenda before the the change of power on Jan. 3, 2027.
Leadership elections and a government funding package are all priorities ahead. But a first order of business is expected to be a resolution to impeach Hegseth.
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Republican Rep. Thomas Massie pushed the impeachment resolution over the objections of House GOP leadership amid growing momentum to hold Hegseth accountable for the Iran war, which many Republicans blame for the party’s midterm election wipeout.
House Speaker Mike Johnson had tried to prevent an impeachment vote September and abruptly halted proceedings by sending lawmakers home early.
READ MORE: Vance blames Iran war for GOP midterm losses
It’s unclear if Johnson will be able to slow the impeachment drive now, unless he decides to adjourn the chamber again.
President Donald Trump defended Hegseth to reporters on Sunday night before he flew back to Washington after spending the weekend at his Florida home.
“He’s guilty of two things, basically winning two wars,” Trump said. “I believe we saved the Middle East and Israel combined. And it’s awfully hard to say let’s impeach somebody who did that.”
Democrats are expected to widely support impeaching him and a number of Republicans have signaled they could join them.
“I’m a hard yes on the Hegseth resolution,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said Sunday on ABC.
Jeffries said it’s time for Hegseth to go, and that the secretary “has abused his power, undermined our national security and engineered this reckless and costly war of choice in Iran.”
