Hegseth Vows to Stay as Massie Readies Impeachment Articles for the House's Return on Monday

The Just Security Early Edition, summarising the New York Times, added that Hegseth vowed to keep his job and said the Pentagon was "more resolute than ever" to finish what it started.

Why is Massie trying to impeach him now?

He tried before. In September Massie sought to force a vote, but Speaker Mike Johnson sent the House home early, according to NBC. What has changed is the election. Democrats won both chambers on Tuesday, as we reported in our account of the Democratic sweep, and Massie has urged the president to replace Hegseth while Republicans still hold the Senate majority. Hakeem Jeffries, who is poised to become speaker, is among the Democrats who want Hegseth out.

The arithmetic is the hard part. Passage would require several Republicans to join every Democrat. Removal would be a different matter, since a Senate trial is a far higher bar.

Is Trump going to fire Hegseth?

In public, no. On Wednesday the president said he was not planning to replace his defense secretary, and on Thursday he said Hegseth "has done a fantastic job", adding that he "probably has opposition" over actions including purging military leadership, per NBC. In private, the picture is less settled. Two people told the network that Trump has asked allies who should succeed him.

The timing is awkward for the White House. Trump said on Thursday, after meeting his national security advisers, that he would soon decide whether to resume military action against Iran now that the midterms are over, according to the Just Security summary of Axios. The war is the reason Massie gives for the articles, and the same war is the decision waiting on the president's desk. How much of that Republicans will carry into a vote will begin to show when members are back at their desks on Monday.