Hegseth has survived an attempt to oust him – for now. A much bigger fight looms

Detailed summary

Reprieve may be short-lived. With Democrats soon to control Congress, could Hegseth still become the first US defense secretary in history to be removed from office?

As a historic “blue wave” swept the Democrats to victory in last week’s US midterms, the likely incoming House oversight committee chair, Democratic lawmaker Robert Garcia, had a simple message for US President Donald Trump and his allies: “Lawyer up”.

But before the new Democrat-controlled Congress has even been sworn in, it’s a member of Trump’s own party who has caused the latest headache for his administration.

On Monday, outgoing Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie, a Republican, took to the House floor to formally introduce a 34-page impeachment resolution against Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of defense.

Albeit an extraordinary rebuke, the move was unlikely to succeed, with Republicans still in power until January.

And indeed, on Tuesday, the Republican-led House voted 211-204 to refer it to committee, effectively killing off the measure for the remainder of this Congress. Hegseth has survived this attempt to oust him.

Any reprieve, however, may be short-lived. With the Democrats preparing to take control of Congress, how does impeachment of a cabinet official work? And could Hegseth still become the first US defence secretary in history to be removed from office?

Nearly 240 years ago, the framers of the US Constitution, fearful of tyranny, wanted a legislative process that could check abuses of executive power and remove a president or official who committed them.

The Constitution vests the House with “the sole Power of Impeachment”, which takes only a simple majority.

But impeachment only represents the formal process of laying charges. Removal from office is a much taller order, and requires a conviction through a trial in the Senate, with a two-thirds supermajority.

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Conversation AU. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.