So? The GOP has a majority in the House, and no way would it pass the Senate. It was a non starter when he proposed it.
Right.
Probably. Same with next year unless we think we can get the vote sin the senate. But even if ni Impeachment/Removal, the Dems can still do an investigation.
It is obviously unlikely that Hegseth would have been removed by the Senate while Republicans still enjoy a 53-47 majority.
But it’s absolutely embarrassing that Democrats couldn’t even get their members to the floor to prevent Republicans from shutting the impeachment down by shuttling it off to the Judiciary Committee. Apparently, several of the missing members were at a reception off campus and got caught in traffic on their way back to the Capitol. There’s no reason why they should have been anywhere but their offices when the House was in session and they knew Johnson could call up that motion at any time. It speaks particularly reflects poorly on Jeffries that his floor operation was caught flat footed, just as he’s making the case to some skeptical constituencies that he deserves the gavel.
What would be the point? Just wait until next year, quietly poll a dozen or so more moderate Republicans in the Senate, see if we have the votes to remove/Convict. If not, just launch an investigation instead.
Not at all, it was clever to let this one die, and make it obvious it was the GOP that did it.
We’ve had a decade and a half of this “cleverness”.
Enough fucking “cleverness”, please.
I wouldn’t have taken that bet but that doesn’t mean it’s not foolish. You can probably clean house on polymarket with that level of confidence – it currently shows a 27% chance of removal by 31 March. That feels about right to me. The momentum is clearly shifting against MAGA within the party, and it’s not unreasonable to think that enough Republicans are tired of hitching their wagon to a losing train.
Hegseth and his entourage are “paying respects” at the tomb of the unknown soldier and someone in the group says something and they laugh, and then, well, the Marine honor guard has something to say.
No, it is not. There’s no need for the Dems to save Massie, or give him support, or anything. He doesn’t have the time nor the interest nor the resources to do a full impeachment by the end of the current session, and wise heads understand this. This is a guy who voted for Trump 87% of the time in the current session. Just because he is doing ONE THING that the Dems are already going to do in January (when they actually will have a better shot of having the votes) doesn’t mean the Dems have to support him.
Also, let’s not forget that, as is typical for a Republican government, the current budget expires on December 11th, so there is also going to be another idiotic government budget battle among that very own party. Do we really need the party in control of both houses of Congress to be divided in a fiercely internecine battle when they are also needed to pass a budget? With Trump in charge, do you think he’ll sign a budget supported by people who just stabbed his SecDef in the back?
No to both questions.
This was a stupid, self-serving action by a person who is antithetical to Dem values, an action which was never going to pass and would have divided the party in power just when a budget vote is needed.
All Massie did was punch the Republicans in the dick, but in this case, the maxim “when your opponent starts punching themselves in the dick, the best strategy is let them continue punching themselves in the dick” does not apply.
I’m not talking about March, I’m talking about having the House impeach by the end of December, 2026. That was never going to happen, and no Dem Congress is going to want to pass articles of impeachment with their opponent’s name headlining the bill, a guy who is no longer there. Might was well name it “The Thomas Massie Memorial Articles of Impeachment” or something.
Looks like a lot of Dems are blaming Mike Johnson for closing down the vote while several Democratic Reps who would have voted No were stuck in traffic, while also being annoyed at their colleagues for not managing to get there in a timely fashion. Not seeing any evidence that this was some galaxy brained strategic move on the part of the Dems; everyone who was denied the opportunity to vote in favor of impeachment seems pissed about it.
Nancy Pelosi appears to be the worst offender, having chosen to remain in San Francisco to receive some sort of award. Another guy was absent for medical reasons, and three Dems including the ever popular Hayley Stevens didn’t bother to respond to questions about where they were while Congress was voting.
The Tomb Guards are Army. Specifically the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, more commonly known as “The Old Guard.”.
Society of the Honor Guard | Units
Legally, no. And the kind of Democrats who wouldn’t ever miss an election would love for Hegseth to be tried over and over. But at least a couple hundred thousand swing voters would think being tried for the same thing twice is unfair.
Also, if Trump’s approval numbers go down far enough, it is barely conceivable that the needed twelve or so GOP senators could be gotten so as to actually remove Hegseth. And that sort would be swayed by the double jeopardy fairness question.
Ignorance fought!
Hegseth had to be reminded to not be a jackass while “paying respects”. Good lord. Even Fox News is reporting on this buffoon.
Good for that sentinel. He issued the same standard warning to Hegseth and his entourage that he would to any citizen who was behaving inappropriately around the Tomb.
The trouble is, Hegseth is just the type of shallow asshole that would seek retribution.
Right. This was pointless.
Offender for what? Skipping a pointless vote on a pointless Bill?
Right, and now the Senate is 55 Dems next year. Much easier.
And see, now this is better. We can do a better, maybe even possible job next year, and then say “Look, the MAGAs were so afraid, they killed it without a vote”.
I agree. I’ve been to the Tomb of the Unknowns in Washington (actually watched the Changing of the Guard there), and it is a very solemn place. Signs all around advise “Silence and Respect,” and as today’s guard proved, that rule will be enforced.
I agree that Hegseth and his group behaved boorishly and were rightly reprimanded. You go to any cemetery and you obey their rules. It’s that simple.
The Sentinels don’t care who you are if you don’t know how to behave. This is on the Heg for not admonishing his guests on proper conduct. Og help him if he tries to retaliate in any way.
Apparently a number of the missing were truly lame-duck members, on their way out of office and in DGAF mode. I can at least imagine Stevens so.