The Kentucky Republican’s effort immediately raised questions about whether he had enough support within his own party to advance the measure.
During the press conference, The Gateway Pundit directly asked Massie whether any Republican lawmakers had pledged to support his impeachment resolution.
His response was revealing.
“No,” Massie acknowledged, before adding, “a lot of them tell me they don’t like Hegseth.”
The comments suggested that while some Republicans may harbor reservations about Hegseth, personal dissatisfaction does not necessarily translate into support for removing him through impeachment.
Massie was also questioned about the broader purpose of pursuing impeachment when the Republican-controlled Senate would be unlikely to convict Hegseth, even if the resolution somehow cleared the House.
He was asked whether he genuinely believed the effort could bring the conflict with Iran to an end.
“Well, I don’t know if it’s going to pass the House or not,” Massie admitted.
Nevertheless, he argued that forcing senators to publicly address the allegations would accomplish something worthwhile, regardless of the ultimate outcome.
“What I want to see is a vote in the Senate. I want to see them go on record. They could dispose with it the way Chuck Schumer did with an impeachment resolution, I think, against Mayorkas, where they don’t really vote on the substance. They just try to dismiss it out of hand instead of getting into the trial and having, you know, a hearing on it, but as long as they have a vote over there, I think it’s good,” he added.
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House Republican leadership, however, made clear that it intended to prevent the resolution from reaching the floor.
Speaker Mike Johnson expressed confidence ahead of the procedural maneuver, dismissing the possibility that Republicans would allow Massie’s impeachment effort to move forward.
According to CBS, Johnson predicted the effort to sideline the resolution would succeed.
“We have the votes,” he said, according to CBS. “We’ll dispense with the impeachment gambit.”
That prediction ultimately proved correct.
Issa’s motion to send the resolution to the Judiciary Committee passed, preventing an immediate floor debate and vote on the eight articles. Rather than allowing Massie to put individual lawmakers on the record through a series of impeachment votes, Republican leadership successfully redirected the measure into the committee process.
Massie had anticipated resistance and indicated that he was prepared to pursue a different strategy if the procedural motion failed.
He claimed that several members of Congress agreed with portions of his resolution, even if they were unwilling to endorse every accusation against Hegseth.
“If the motion to kill my resolution by referring it to committee fails, and we proceed to the Articles themselves, I’ll request a vote on each of the Articles separately,” he said.
His proposed approach was designed to give lawmakers an opportunity to support individual allegations rather than requiring them to embrace the entire impeachment package.
However, that opportunity was blocked when Issa’s motion passed.
There was also another significant obstacle standing between Massie’s resolution and an actual Senate proceeding. Even if the House had approved impeachment, Johnson could potentially prevent the matter from reaching the upper chamber by declining to transmit the resolution.
Meanwhile, Hegseth was not staying silent as the impeachment effort unfolded.
Speaking during a press conference Thursday morning, the Defense Secretary forcefully rejected Massie’s accusations, characterizing the entire proceeding as politically motivated theater.
Hegseth described the impeachment effort as a “farce” and a “stunt,” while taking a direct shot at the Kentucky congressman, referring to him as “disgruntled and defeated.”
The exchange underscores the growing political tensions surrounding the Pentagon chief and the administration’s military policies.
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For Massie, the immediate objective of forcing a House-wide impeachment debate has now been thwarted. His effort also exposed the difficulty of building Republican support for an initiative targeting a senior official serving in a Republican administration.
For Johnson and House Republican leadership, the successful procedural maneuver sends a clear message: they are unwilling to allow Massie’s impeachment campaign to consume the House floor.
Whether the Judiciary Committee will take any meaningful action on the resolution remains another question.
For now, Hegseth has avoided an immediate impeachment vote, while Massie’s attempt to force a public confrontation with Republican lawmakers has suffered a decisive procedural defeat.
