The impact of the midterm election result is going to be felt for years, to be sure. But some of the effects will be far more swift than that, likely kicking off right after the new Congress is sworn in. We’re mere hours removed from the election, with some votes still being tallied, but already some in the media are handicapping who in the administration will remain in their positions and who will not, either because an angry Trump searching for a scapegoat fires them, or through impeachment efforts. Many people think that a third Trump impeachment will be the focus. I don’t. And I hope that’s not the route the Democrats go, though not every Techdirt writer agrees with me. I guess I’m just not all that excited to watch J.D. Vance walk into a room while Hail to the Chief plays behind him, even temporarily.
I much prefer the government go after the many valid targets for impeachment that currently sit in Trump’s cabinet. And, given that both Trump and Vance are currently blaming the Iran not-a-war for the GOP loss, Pete Hegseth seems like a likely candidate to be the first to go.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth faces impeachment accusations when Congress returns after the midterm elections and others, including President Donald Trump, could be investigated for alleged misconduct as Democrats return to power.
There are all kinds of reasons to impeach Hegseth. His injection of Christian nationalism into the DoD is plainly unconstitutional. He’s currently running a war with Iran that is without Congressional authorization and has resulted in the cavalier bombing of such dastardly targets as Iranian schoolgirls. He is almost certainly personally responsible for the murder of human trafficking victims as part of his campaign to lob bombs at boats off the coast of South America because they might be running drugs. In quick order, the military under Hegseth also managed to double-tap strike its victims in these boats to ensure the victims couldn’t seek justice.
Thomas Massie already has articles of impeachment for Hegseth written. But Hegseth is also an easy target for Trump to fire, which may happen before any impeachment efforts can really get kicked off. It’s not like Trump would lose much in firing Hegseth. He wasn’t qualified for the position to begin with.
And neither is the other likely target of impeachment efforts: RFK Jr. The number of justifications for impeaching Kennedy are legion. He’s completely failed in his role, preferring to run podcasts and host cooking shows instead of doing his job. Measles, screwworms, pertussis are all on the rise under his failed leadership. The medical community is in full revolt over his vaccine policies. He’s hiding data from the public as to the results of his disaster of a tenure at HHS.
Like Hegseth, Kennedy already has impeachment articles filed against him that are ready to go.
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Michigan, filed impeachment accusations against Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in December. Stevens accused Kennedy of freezing or canceling billions of dollars in research, firing health advisers and spreading conspiracy theories.
“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has imperiled the health and safety of the American people, eroded public confidence in the nation’s public health institutions and stalled decades of scientific and medical progress,” Stevens wrote in the resolution.
Kennedy’s ouster from HHS is long, long overdue.
None of this should be misconstrued to suggest that Democrats should take a page from Trump’s playbook and go on a revenge tour. But dismantling the corrupt, inept regime at the Secretary level makes all the sense in the world. Both Hegseth and Kennedy have been absolute disasters for the country on a variety of levels. Allowing them two more years to continue to harm the country is plainly unacceptable. And, importantly, there are Republicans that would be likely allies to impeachment efforts of both of them.
The project of American restoration has to start now. Tearing down the House of MAGA must begin, brick by brick.
Perhaps then, and only then, we can truly be great again.
