Donald Trump’s Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “richly deserves” to be fired or impeached before he does any more damage to the armed forces, according to Washington Post columnist Max Boot.
In a new column, Boot declared Hegseth the most damaging appointee in what he called a historically awful Cabinet.
Boot argued that Hegseth excels at only one thing: consolidating power at the Pentagon. To hang on to his job, he wrote, Hegseth has launched aggressive hunts for leakers and ordered dozens of senior officers to take polygraph tests, an unprecedented step. Boot also mocked Hegseth’s steady stream of workout videos with troops, saying he behaves as if his job were to be a personal trainer.
But Boot said reality is catching up, and there is speculation in Washington that Hegseth could be fired after the midterms, with the Iran war turning into a fiasco and Trump in need of a fall guy. Another rumor has Sen. Marsha Blackburn, the likely next governor of Tennessee, appointing Hegseth to her Senate seat.
If neither happens, Hegseth could face impeachment. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie plans to reintroduce an eight-count resolution, which he says could win enough GOP votes to pass the House. When Massie first filed it in September, Speaker Mike Johnson adjourned the House early to avoid a vote. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has vowed that Democrats will “run Pete Hegseth out of town” if they win the majority.
Massie’s articles accuse Hegseth of waging unauthorized wars in Yemen and Iran, ignoring rules meant to protect civilians, carrying out extrajudicial killings in strikes on suspected drug boats, and trying to prosecute Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly. Boot said he disagrees with one article on the capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, but argued that many more charges could be added.
He pointed to a Pentagon inspector general finding that Hegseth endangered troops by sharing sensitive details on Signal, and to possible Hatch Act violations from campaigning for Republicans. Boot also blamed the Pentagon chief for leaving the military unprepared for Iranian attacks and critically short of munitions.
Most damaging of all, Boot wrote, are Hegseth’s mass firings. He has overseen the departure of at least 26 generals and admirals and blocked at least 45 other promotions, more than half involving women or Black officers. Last week he removed Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, whose ouster was accompanied by leaked accusations that Sylvia had leaked to reporters. Hegseth’s office, Boot noted, is now leaking about leaks.
Boot acknowledged that a Senate conviction remains unlikely. But he warned that the damage Hegseth has already done will take years to repair.
