Low attendance a problem for White House as GOP bails on sinking ship

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson delivers remarks at a White House reception for Republican members of congress, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)

Republicans acknowledge that they will likely lose the impeachment vote for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Tuesday night.

Outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) lost his primary in May, but has spent the six months after focusing on what he can accomplish before leaving the House. Hegseth is on that list.

The filed Articles of Impeachment were enough to prompt the secretary to hold a press conference, where he lashed out at Massie for being political, despite not having an election left to run.

CNN's Sarah Ferris reported that Democratic sources believe that the Republican losses on Nov. 3 have put off some lawmakers from coming into work. There are 22 Republicans who aren't in Washington and "hardly any of them [are] coming back in 2027."

Republicans also told Ferris that they expect to lose the impeachment vote.

Several Republicans in the Senate have lamented that they regret voting for Hegseth to serve in the post, particularly now that he's overseeing another war in the Middle East. However, President Donald Trump maintains that it isn't a war. Supporters of Hegseth say that a time of war is the wrong time to impeach a secretary of defense.

CNN reported Tuesday that Trump has been making calls to gauge where people stand on Hegseth, though he doesn't appear to be lobbying on the secretary's behalf.

"There are many senior advisers throughout the administration who have grown skeptical of whether the defense secretary will be able to hang onto his position for much longer, arguing his goodwill with the president will last until it becomes a serious liability," wrote CNN's Alayna Treene on X.

Impeachment still requires a two-thirds majority to remove Hegseth. While a simple majority may agree to a trial, it doesn't appear likely the coalition could reach 67 votes.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) told CBS News' Caitlin Huey-Burns that he would be "open" to holding a full trial for Hegseth in the Senate.

Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) have all said that they regret voting for Hegseth. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was among the few Republicans who voted against Hegseth, but there continue to be questions about his health. With McConnell and all Democrats, there would be the necessary votes for a trial. But if outgoing Sen. Cassidy can be convinced by Massie to support the measure, it could provide some extra padding.

Punchbowl News' Andrew Desiderio reported Tuesday morning that Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) "just went off on Hegseth," and she might also support a trial.

Ernst, who is also leaving the Senate, was furious with the “lack of info” to Congress on the Iran war. She also appeared to accuse Hegseth of possibly deceiving Trump about the war.

“I question whether the information that is coming through the secretary out of the Pentagon has been accurate, and the way he is portraying the war to the president,” Ernst said. “If there is deception coming from our Pentagon and being transmitted to the President, I would want to know that. Now, will that be part of this impeachment? I don't know. But I have some serious questions."

Ernst added that with Hegseth as the head of the Department of Defense, it "absolutely" makes it difficult for Republicans to pass Pentagon funding that Trump wants from Congress before the end of the lame duck session.

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