“He Needs To Go” – GOP Senator Throws Support Behind Pete Hegseth Impeachment | JP

On Sep 18, 2026

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said Secretary of War Pete Hegseth “needs to go” after Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) introduced articles of impeachment against the secretary.

Thomas Massie Introduces Articles Of Impeachment Against Trump Cabinet Member

“He needs to go, whether it’s impeachment or the most expedient route — just the president to replace him — would be great,” Tillis told reporters.

“I’ll let the House do what the House is gonna do,” Tillis said.

“I think I’m pretty well staked out on my assessment of Mr. Hegseth,” he added.

Watch below:

GOP Senator Thom Tillis: “Hegseth needs to go.” pic.twitter.com/b8vn5cuwYt

— TheBlaze (@theblaze) September 17, 2026

The Hill shared further:

Tillis, who is not seeking reelection in November, has been one of Hegseth’s most vocal Republican critics in the Senate.

“I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country,” the outgoing North Carolina Republican wrote on the social platform X earlier this month.

He also accused Hegseth of pushing out experienced military officials and said the Pentagon needed a leader who would “retain and empower our military talent rather than diminish it.”

“I urge the President to find a new leader at the Pentagon who will retain and empower our military talent rather than diminish it,” he said.

Tillis told Politico earlier this year that Trump firing Hegseth was on “a Christmas wish list,” and believed the Pentagon chief misled Trump on the dynamics of a war in Iran.

House Speaker Mike Johnson canceled votes scheduled for Thursday, pushing a vote on the impeachment articles against Hegseth until after the midterm elections.

“Just As I Predicted” – House Speaker Mike Johnson Cancels Final Voting Day Before Midterm Elections

“Why are we canceling session when there’s so much important work to be done? It’s because they want to avoid voting on my Epstein legislation and the impeachment of Hegseth,” Massie said.

“I claimed an hour of time to speak about this and a few of my accomplishments in Congress,” he added.

Watch below:

Why are we canceling session when there’s so much important work to be done? It’s because they want to avoid voting on my Epstein legislation and the impeachment of Hegseth.

I claimed an hour of time to speak about this and a few of my accomplishments in Congress. pic.twitter.com/t26miP6gvm

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) September 16, 2026

More from the Associated Press:

The confrontation also provided a platform for Massie, the libertarian-leaning go-his-own-way congressman who orchestrated the initial release of the Epstein files and helped lead efforts to halt the conflict in Iran through a war powers resolution.

Massie lost his own primary bid for reelection after Trump mounted a costly campaign to kick him out of Congress.

But the congressman has only appeared emboldened in his final days in office.

Massie spent much of his floor speech assailing Johnson’s leadership and decrying what he calls the “uniparty,” which he characterizes as moving in lockstep with big-money special interests at home and abroad.

He also devoted substantial time to criticizing Hegseth and the “stupid war” he said the U.S. should not be involved with in Iran. Deriding Hegseth’s leadership, he mocked the secretary for trying to rename the Defense Department as the Department of War without consulting Congress.

“H**l, you can’t even rename a post office without us,” he said.

Hegseth’s role in sending the U.S. into the Iran wars without approval of Congress and directing the U.S.’s military strikes of alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean are among the actions Massie characterized as high crimes and misdemeanors in the articles of impeachment against the Defense secretary.

Massie said he knew when he landed in Washington that he would stand apart.

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“I’m not playing this game,” he said. “I am going to tell people what is going on up here.”