The most awkward challenge to Pete Hegseth this week comes from a Republican. On Monday Thomas Massie, who represents Kentucky, used his floor time to list eight charges he wants the chamber to bring against the Pentagon chief, and he lodged them in a form that takes priority. That procedural choice matters: the Speaker must now find a slot for it within two sitting days, so party leaders cannot simply let it gather dust.
Iran dominates the list, accounting for three charges. Massie argues that US forces have been in combat there for over three months with no green light from Congress, which he says breaks the 1973 War Powers Resolution. The remaining five range from the rules on civilian casualties and deadly strikes on boats at sea to the capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro and a Yemen operation. A near-identical attempt in September never reached a vote.
Massie, who is leaving Congress, framed the move partly as advice. With Democrats expected to run both chambers next year after the Republican losses at the polls, he urged the president to replace Hegseth quickly, while the current Senate can still confirm a successor.
Donald Trump had no intention of doing so. He dismissed Massie as a “loser”, insisted his defence chief had “won two wars”, and, after hosting Qatar’s prime minister at the White House, said that militarily the conflict with Iran was “effectively over”. Fresh US strikes were “quite unlikely”, he added, while warning that America remained “locked and loaded”.
On the ground, or rather at sea, little has changed. The naval blockade aimed at Iran’s oil exports stays in place and so do the troops sent to the region. In Tehran, Mohsen Rezaei, a top security official, brushed off the upbeat tone and said the talks Washington describes do not exist. House leaders can now table the resolution, refer it to a committee, or let it be debated.
