North Carolina lawmakers and veterans groups are calling for accountability from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after House Republicans blocked an effort to impeach him over his handling of the war in Iran.
This week, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced eight articles of impeachment accusing Hegseth of misconduct. The House voted to refer the articles to the Judiciary Committee, effectively shelving the effort.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), potentially the next speaker of the House, said he supported the impeachment effort. On Monday, two Republicans told MS Now they expected the impeachment vote to succeed if it came to the House floor.
But the next day, a key procedural vote for Hegseth’s impeachment fell by just seven votes. Eleven Democrats missed the vote, allowing Hegseth to continue leading the Department of Defense (DOD).
Rep.-elect Richard Ojeda (D-Aberdeen) blasted Hegseth in a press conference with his colleagues after the vote and on X before the vote.
“Pete Hegseth isn’t fit to lead a row boat, let alone the greatest fighting force on the planet,” Ojeda said via X. “He led us into an illegal war that has drained our resources, wrecked our economy, and killed American service members and countless civilians. And this just scratches the surface of his crimes against the American people. He WILL be held accountable.”
Ojeda, a retired Army major, has previously criticized Hegseth’s performance at DOD.
“Our troops are not props. The Pentagon is not a playground for incompetent fox news hacks with something to prove about their manliness,” Ojeda said on X in August. “I carry the names of 13 brothers I lost in war tattooed on my body. I know exactly who pays the price when the people at the top screw up.”
Since the war against Iran began on Feb. 28, there have been at least 865 injured and 23 deaths among US service members, according to Pentagon figures.
What veterans groups and lawmakers say
Hegseth has come under scrutiny from veterans and lawmakers alike for how the war in Iran has been conducted.
“Pete Hegseth is the most reckless Secretary of Defense in our lifetimes,” Scott Peoples, a veteran and the executive director of Veterans for Responsible Leadership, told Cardinal & Pine in a statement. “From the illegal bombings of boats in the Caribbean, to overseeing of an illegal war in Iran that was launched without Congressional approval, to the bombing of a girls school in Iran which resulted in over 160 deaths of schoolchildren, it is clear that Pete Hegseth may have engaged in war crimes that need to be investigated. Pete Hegseth is acting like he is above the law and we need Congress to reassert its war making powers and hold leaders at all levels accountable that are trying to subvert the Constitution.”
Peoples said the new Democratic majorities in the US House and Senate should rein in Hegseth’s power in January.
“We believe that the new Congress should take back its power to declare war which is granted in the Constitution. We do not believe another dime should be spent on this illegal war in Iran and we should bring our troops home, including the paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg,” Peoples said.
Rep. Deborah Ross, a Democrat representing Wake County, echoed what Peoples said.
“He has repeatedly supported actions that violate human rights and international law, declaring ‘Maximum lethality, not tepid legality.’ This war of choice took the life of a North Carolina soldier, Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, and has taken the lives of dozens of other soldiers,” Ross told Cardinal & Pine. “Next Congress, Democrats will have ample opportunities to investigate the full extent of the damage he has caused and hold him accountable for his crimes.”
Rep. Richard Hudson, the Republican whom Ojeda defeated, voted in favor of blocking the impeachment.
Common Defense, a grassroots veterans organization, expressed frustration with how Hegseth has conducted himself and Republicans’ failure to hold him accountable.
“The Republican congressmen representing Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune, Richard Hudson and Greg Murphy, both lost reelection last week. Last night they voted against holding Hegseth accountable. Our troops and military families deserve better and the new Congress can’t get here soon enough,” Tariq Smith, deputy organizing director for Common Defense, said in a statement.
