LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The House could vote this week on a resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The Constitution says officials can be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors. One of the crimes Hegseth is accused of is illegally waging war on Iran. On Monday, President Trump said he's standing by the defense secretary.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: He won the war in two places, two big places - very important, very impactful. And they were won.
INSKEEP: As the president said. Hegseth is expected to address the charges against him later this morning.
FADEL: NPR congressional reporter Sam Gringlas joins us now to talk about this. Good morning, Sam.
SAM GRINGLAS, BYLINE: Hey, Leila.
FADEL: So why is this happening now?
GRINGLAS: OK. So let me ask you to think back to September.
FADEL: OK.
GRINGLAS: That is when outgoing Republican Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky first filed these articles of impeachment. But before the House would have to deal with this, Speaker Mike Johnson sent members home early until after the election. But now this can could not be kicked down the road forever. The House is back, and Massie is trying to force the House to take them up.
FADEL: Now, what's Hegseth accused of?
GRINGLAS: So there are eight articles. Four focus on Hegseth circumventing or ignoring Congress' authority over waging war, mostly with regard to the war in Iran but also Yemen. One article accuses Hegseth of committing extrajudicial killings when the administration carried out strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea. Another claims Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was seized without legal authority. And another focuses on Hegseth retaliating against Senator Mark Kelly, who encouraged members of the military to disobey illegal orders. Hegseth is also accused here of ignoring laws to minimize civilian casualties.
FADEL: What has Hegseth and President Trump said about all this?
GRINGLAS: Yeah. So Hegseth has called these articles of impeachment a sham. And in a video message to U.S. troops on Sunday, he chalked up the effort to a partisan attack.
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PETE HEGSETH: Don't blink. Ignore the noise. Never hesitate. You see, all this is politics.
GRINGLAS: And as of last night, Trump says Hegseth still has his support.
FADEL: I mean, I'll note there, though, that this was all started by a Republican who's now a critic of Hegseth and Trump. Republicans still control both chambers of Congress until next year. How likely is it that Hegseth gets impeached this week and then removed from office?
GRINGLAS: Only a few Republicans need to support impeachment in the House, so it is possible. That would then kick this over to the Senate for a trial. Actually booting Hegseth from the Pentagon would take 67 senators, which will not be easy even next year, once Democrats take the Senate. But Massie told reporters he feels it's doable not only because the politics at home will sway some Republicans - you know, opposition to the war having contributed to this blue tsunami last week. But he also believes some members have now come around to thinking Congress has to do something to reassert its authority over war powers.
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THOMAS MASSIE: Somebody's got to put their foot down and say, are we going to follow the laws that are on the books? Are we going to follow the Constitution? And the best way to do that is to have an impeachment against Pete Hegseth.
FADEL: How unusual is the impeachment of a Cabinet official?
GRINGLAS: Only two Cabinet secretaries have been impeached - President Grant's war secretary in 1876 and President Biden's Homeland Security secretary. Neither were convicted in the Senate. Should this spill into next year, Leila, I think Democrats are down to see Hegseth's ouster through. But I've heard from Democrats also wary of getting bogged down by impeachments, given how hard they campaigned on taking action to make life more affordable.
FADEL: That's NPR congressional reporter Sam Gringlas. Thank you, Sam.
GRINGLAS: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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