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Washington — GOP Rep. French Hill of Arkansas was noncommittal on Sunday about whether he would support an impeachment push against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as lawmakers are poised to return to Capitol Hill this week for the first time since voters delivered widespread rebuke in the midterm elections of the GOP — and the war in Iran.
“I want to hear the debate on it to see if it merits impeachment versus some other disciplinary action or action by the president if he’s not getting the job done in leading the Department of War,” Hill said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
Hegseth is expected to be under the microscope this week as long-brewing anger has come to the fore following the midterm elections, where Republicans saw brutal losses as many voters cited concerns about the war in Iran and its impact on the cost of living. Before lawmakers left town for the campaign trail, outgoing GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky introduced articles of impeachment against Hegseth. This week, Massie said he plans to push ahead with forcing the vote.
Hill acknowledged that he’s not satisfied with how the war has been handled. And he added that, “The commander in chief has to take the responsibility for the strategy of conducting the war and how it’s been conducted.”
“But I’ll tell you one thing: There’s nobody in America that wants Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” Hill said. “This has been a goal of the United States for five decades.”
Asked whether Hegseth should be impeached, Hill said, “The question is for the president: Should he continue to serve as the Secretary of War.”
Hill also drew a distinction between Hegseth’s job performance and whether he’s committed impeachable offenses. Under the Constitution, the basis for impeachment is “high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
“If you don’t think he’s done a good job conducting his job, that doesn’t mean per se that he’s committed an impeachable offense,” Hill said.
The Arkansas Republican said that if Hegseth isn’t “conducting his mission in the right way,” then “then the president ought to make a change there.”
“The question is: Are we leading at the Pentagon in the right way or not the right way?” Hill said. “That’s very separate from whether or not somebody’s committed an impeachable offense.”
