Reporter's Notebook: How midterms may change the House impeachment equation for Hegseth

By Fox News · Fox News

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., plans to reintroduce articles of impeachment for Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth next week. The chances are increasingly high that the House could in fact impeach Hegseth. Why? Massie tried to impeach Hegseth before the midterms. But the House adjourned a day early in September, nixing Massie’s effort. House Speaker Mike Johnson , R-La., condemned the effort by Massie. But insisted that he didn’t send members home early because of fear that the House had the votes to impeach Hegseth. So Massie’s articles of impeachment expired. But he will reintroduce them next week. Under the rules, the House must consider them within two days. THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO MASSIE SAYING JOHNSON IS SENDING THE HOUSE HOME EARLY TO PREVENT HEGSETH IMPEACHMENT It’s possible the House could move to table the articles, or send them to committee, euthanizing the effort. But a growing number of House Republicans have grumbled about Hegseth. Any effort to dismiss the articles in the House might not work. It’s about the math. All Democrats are likely to vote to impeach. There are some Republicans who have said privately they’d like to impeach. Now, after the midterms, you have more Republicans hoping to build distance between themselves and President Trump. Moreover, the war in Iran contributed directly to the GOP’s thumping. So even more Republicans may be willing to impeach. Finally, the GOP may have attendance problems. Members who lost — or were shocked that they lost — might not show up. In other words, there may be more Democrats in the House next week than Republicans. Don’t forget that some Republicans are now looking for a scapegoat after the election. DEMS SEIZE THE SENATE AS BLUE TIDAL WAVE CRASHES DEEP INTO TRUMP COUNTRY, TOPPLES GOP STRONGHOLDS A simple majority is necessary to impeach. Then the House would send the articles of impeachment to the Senate. Under Senate rules of impeachment, the Senate must at least receive and consider the articles. But it cou…