During a recent episode of MS NOW’s “State of Play,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) tossed some major praise on Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), referring to him as a “voice of courage.” This is in stark contrast to how many of Massie’s own GOP colleagues and conservative viewers view him, as he proved himself to be in opposition to President Donald Trump and his America First agenda on many occasions.
Peter Alexander, the program’s host, said, “Republican Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky surprised his party by calling for the impeachment of Secretary Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary. Here’s part of what he said.” A few days prior to the episode, Massie spoke on Capitol Hill, insulting Secretary of War Pete Hegseth by accusing him of violating the Constitution.
“Whether it’s Venezuela, Yemen, Iran, targeting of civilians in Iran or, you know, squashing the First Amendment rights of Senator Mike Kelly, and Venezuela—going in and kidnapping a head of state. He’s racked up the most trophies, if trophies are violations of the Constitution,” Massie said. Alexander then asked Jayapal during the interview if she supported impeaching Hegseth.
Alexander asked, “Congresswoman, if Democrats take back the House, would you support impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth?” Before she revealed her answer about impeaching the secretary of war, she heaped praise on Massie, which many conservatives viewed as a sure sign that the Kentucky congressman is a Republican In Name Only (RINO).
“Well, I think that Representative Massie, first of all, is such a voice of courage. For all the things we disagree on, we have done so much work together. He’s also the sponsor of my legislation to repeal the 2001 AUMF. This is bipartisan legislation that presidents on both sides continue to use to go to war. I think that impeachment of Secretary Hegseth and many of the cabinet members is always an option. What we need to do is make sure that the Senate is able to follow through with conviction,” Jayapal replied.
According to a report from Breitbart News, she then added, “As you know, we impeached the president twice in the House of Representatives. And the Senate, led by Mitch McConnell, refused to do anything about it, which is why we are in the position we’re in right now.” Massie stated on September 15 that he kept the resolution to impeach Hegseth a secret from leaders in the GOP, noting he did not want to “show his hand.”
“I didn’t want to show it to anybody,” the Kentucky Republican stated during an appearance on CNN’s “The Source” later that day. “I was afraid that they would do something to subvert me getting on the floor for an hour and 20 minutes and reading these articles.” According to The Hill, Massie told program host Kaitlan Collins that he had “not heard” back from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) concerning the resolution.
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“This is a hot war,” he told Collins. “This could become a nuclear war, and in the interim, even if it doesn’t, there are civilian casualties that are racking up greater than they would have otherwise because another one of my articles of impeachment shows that Peter Hegseth has degraded the ability of the DOD to minimize civilian casualties.”
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video