Posted on 11/07/2026 11:46:27 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
Congressional critics warn a defiant defense secretary could imperil military funding
WASHINGTON—With a vote on his impeachment looming next week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is digging in his heels and vowing to stay at his Pentagon post for the rest of the Trump administration.
Hegseth has reassured his allies that he is not angling for Marsha Blackburn’s Tennessee seat in a Senate that will now be controlled by Democrats, Pentagon officials said.
If his congressional opponents vote to impeach him, Hegseth will seek to use the confrontation as a platform to aggressively defend his agenda, which includes the war with Iran, the ouster of senior military officers and rolling back past diversity policies.
“He’s not going anywhere,” said Tim Parlatore, a special adviser to Hegseth. “He intends to serve the full four years.”
The embattled defense secretary’s defiant stance has set the stage for a bruising clash with lawmakers frustrated over the stalemated conflict with Tehran. Even Republican lawmakers who have backed Trump on the Iran war are voicing serious misgivings about Hegseth.
“I can tell you that there’s a lot of questions about Hegseth,” Rep. James Comer, the Kentucky Republican who chairs the House Oversight Committee, said in an appearance on NewsNation. “We have no idea what the strategy is moving forward on Iran.”
While more lawmakers would like to see Hegseth depart the Pentagon, his place within the Trump administration appeared to be more secure late Friday when Trump announced that Stephen Miller would be his next chief of staff.
Hegseth has long aligned himself with Miller, favoring the expanded use of the military to secure the southern border and strike suspected drug smugglers.
Within minutes of Miller’s appointment, Hegseth posted “Patriots in control” on his personal social-media account and...
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
“We have no idea what the strategy is moving forward on Iran.”
That’s how it’s supposed to be. I don’t care what committee you’re on, too many leaks...
So he is ordered by his civilian leadership to carry out a mission, follows those directives, yet is now in trouble over it? Does anyone know how the military in the US works?
“and all civil officers of the United States…”
It does apply to the Secretary of Defense.
Good catch, but remarkably fuzzy at the edges as to what qualifies an appointee as "an officer." If they had set it to "all officers requiring Senate confirmation" that would have been much more workable.
That’s a good point and agreed.
Rep. James Comer just shot himself in the foot.
I didn't ask him what he thought about policies, whether he agrees with them or not.
Article I §3 Power of Impeachment
Article I §4 Trial of Impeachments
Article II §4: "The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.
It includes, in plain English, "all civil officers of the United States".
Hegseth is not responsible for Iran, it is Trump’s responsibility.
There is nothing Hegseth has done which is violating any law. The best Democrats have of him is campaigning in the midterms.
This whole impeachment talk started with the idiot Massie.
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