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Even Republicans Are Figuring Out That Pete Hegseth Is a Disaster

Hegseth was always a horrible choice for defense secretary. At long last, some in the GOP are admitting it.

Pete Hegseth speaks at an Oshkosh Corporation facility in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on Monday, August 24, 2026.

Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie is proving that a lame duck can be dangerous. As an anti-war Republican with a strong libertarian streak, Massie has been a major thorn in the side of Donald Trump, spearheading the movement to release the files of the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and also strongly criticizing the Iran War. 

Earlier this year, Trump and his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, worked overtime to end Massie’s career by supporting his congressional primary challenger, MAGA lickspittle Ed Gallrein. Hegseth even spoke at political rallies on Gallrein’s behalf, breaking with a long tradition of defense secretaries staying away from the campaign trail. More insidiously, Hegseth gave high-level Pentagon jobs to social media influencers who had strongly attacked Massie. Gallrein won the primary race in March, but his victory was tainted by Hegseth’s support, which amounted to an unprecedented politicization of the Pentagon.

Massie hasn’t taken his defeat lying down. He’s clearly intent on using the time he has left in office to hold Trump and Hegseth accountable—which is why he introduced an impeachment resolution against Hegseth last week. This resolution appears to be the primary reason House Speaker Mike Johnson abruptly adjourned Congress; there was a real possibility that it could pass the House despite Trump’s opposition, in the same way Massie’s pressure campaign around releasing the Epstein files bore fruit.

Massie understandably has hostility toward Hegseth. But his impeachment resolution transcends their personal feud. It’s a strongly principled document, especially welcome in an age when Congress has shirked its constitutional responsibility to hold the executive branch accountable.

The “high crimes and misdemeanors” that Hegseth is accused of include waging the Iran War without congressional authorization and violating the laws of war by the killing of civilians in the bombing campaign in the Caribbean, as well as the February strike against the girl’s school in Minab, Iran, which killed more than 150 people, including at least 123 children. Other counts against Hegseth include “denigrating women, LGBTQ , and people of color serving the United States, including by forcibly separating transgender people from service” and “personally intervening in promotions to deny the elevation of qualified Black and women officers.”

Coming from a right-wing Republican representative, these are a remarkable set of accusations against a government official. They also seemingly spooked Johnson enough to call a quick recess rather than allow a vote. Speaking to CNN, Massie said, “The fact that they didn’t vote on it tells me that they did a whip check, and they probably found that there were some other Republicans, besides me, that were going to vote for this,........

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