Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) said he was still deciding his vote on impeaching War Secretary Pete Hegseth, noting that he has some areas of disagreement on the articles introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) on Monday.
Bacon, who has been a sharp critic of Hegseth’s leadership of the Department of War, said the articles brought forth by Massie fail to address mass firings by Hegseth and his withholding of aid to Ukraine, leaving him “torn” on the matter.
“I’m weighing it,” Bacon told CNN’s Manu Raju of his vote. “We have eight articles, and I’m not very sympathetic to those articles.”
Most of the eight articles detail Hegseth’s actions on recent military operations in Iran, Yemen, and Venezuela without prior authorization from Congress. They argue that the secretary’s usurping of Congress’s will, as outlined in the War Powers Resolution of 1973, amounts to high crimes and misdemeanors.
Additionally, the articles allege that Hegseth’s desire to pursue a culture with “maximum lethality,” combined with other efforts he undertook to reduce the civilian harm mitigation office, has led to the unnecessary deaths of civilians caught in the crossfire from U.S. forces.
“The areas that concern me most about the secretary aren’t in the articles of impeachment,” Bacon said. “Firing and redlining of 80 generals and admirals, the withholding appropriated money all year for Ukraine … I’m not the only one [who] feels it. There’s a bunch of us that have been talking about it.”
Bacon said he largely agrees with President Donald Trump’s decision to strike Iran, noting that Tehran has targeted Americans for decades. He said that while he sees a “need to have gone into Iran,” he faults the president for not seeking bipartisan support on the operation.
The outgoing congressman went on to say he would be “more inclined” to support an impeachment effort that addresses his concerns, but said he has no plans to draft them because he doesn’t foresee any impeachment effort moving forward in the Senate.
Bacon said his opinion is that Hegseth should resign and acknowledged, “I don’t think he was the right choice to begin with.”
MASSIE REINTRODUCES ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT AGAINST HEGSETH. HERE’S WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
Bacon, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, has had issues with Hegseth from the get-go. He called on Trump to fire the Cabinet official after a journalist was mistakenly added to a Signal group chat discussing sensitive military matters, and has often characterized Hegseth as inexperienced.
Hegseth has affirmed his plans to remain war secretary, saying, “A disgruntled defeated congressman” introduced “sham articles of impeachment against yours truly,” in reference to Massie.