Massie to Force Hegseth Vote Nov. 9

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will face a formal impeachment vote in the House of Representatives on Nov. 9, according to a Wall Street Journal report published Friday. The date falls the day after the midterm elections and the first day the House is back in session.

Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, filed articles of impeachment against Hegseth in September. Massie accused the defense secretary of abusing his office by executing an order for hostilities against Iran without approval from Congress. He stated his intent to force the vote immediately upon the House's return to Washington.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries signaled support for the move while speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania earlier this month. Jeffries said the party's first action in a majority would be to run Hegseth out of town. The Wall Street Journal noted that other Democratic lawmakers have been blunt in their criticism. Rep. Pramila Jayapal described Hegseth as incompetent and corrupt during a CNN interview. Rep. Jared Huffman called him an unhinged fanatic who should be removed from office.

The impeachment push coincides with scrutiny of Hegseth's recent diplomatic activities. Two sources confirmed to Walla that Hegseth held a covert meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Israel's Ovda air base on Monday. The meeting took place days before the Israeli election. Reuters reported that Hegseth confirmed the visit occurred but declined to elaborate on the details of the conversation.

A KAN News report on Tuesday identified Iran as the main topic of discussion. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz reportedly attended the sit-down. The IDF Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, and other senior Israeli officials were not invited to the meeting for confidentiality reasons. The Wall Street Journal reported that Democrats are laying the groundwork for the process now, with the expectation that the party will launch the formal removal drive if it emerges from the upcoming midterm elections in a strong position.