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Archive photo · 27 January 2025White House Denies Hegseth and Rubio Exit After Republican Election Losses
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White House denies Hegseth and Rubio will depart amid post-election shakeup. Impeachment pressure against Hegseth grows as Republicans threaten vote next week.
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Impeachment Looms
The White House denied rumours that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio might leave their jobs after Republican election losses, while President Donald Trump told reporters he had “every intention” of keeping Hegseth. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted a video statement defending his record and denouncing an effort to impeach him, saying, “We will not back down.”
Representative Thomas Massie threatened to force an impeachment vote against Hegseth as early as next week, and Massie said on X, “He should do it while he can still get the replacements confirmed in the Senate.” Trump told reporters at the White House that “Pete Hegseth has done a fantastic job,” and he linked his support to Hegseth’s role in the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January and the Iran war, now into its ninth month.
Hegseth’s Video
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s social media video Thursday vowed, “We Stand, We Fight,” as expectations rose that the lame-duck GOP-led House of Representatives may vote to impeach him next week. Hegseth also told viewers, “It’s all about the politics of personal destruction,” and he said, “Didn’t work against President Trump, and it won’t work with me.”
President Donald Trump praised Hegseth as doing a “fantastic job” at the Pentagon even as the impeachment push gathered momentum after midterm results. Vice President JD Vance pinned the GOP debacle Tuesday on the war and warned that those who supported it had lost the Senate for six years.
What Comes Next
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie said he would trigger his resolution to impeach Hegseth early next week, and he wrote on X that “There is one contingency in which I won’t reintroduce the articles of impeachment: Hegseth resigns.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., would then have two legislative days to act, and Johnson could put the resolution on the floor, refer it to committee, or motion to table it, with all options requiring a majority vote for success.
NBC News said lawmakers are scheduled to return to Washington on Monday, and it described Hegseth dismissing the renewed effort in the House as “sham articles of impeachment.”
The Hill reported that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is widely considered to be the next Speaker of the House, asked on X, “Why is Pete Hegseth still around?”
