Reported by Al Jazeera
Democratic lawmakers are mapping out their post-midterm agenda with pledges to lead committee investigations into Trump and his officials.
United States House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has thrown his support behind impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as the Democratic Party prepares to use its incoming congressional majorities to probe President Donald Trump’s administration.
In a Sunday appearance on the Television show This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Jeffries weighed in on the upcoming impeachment resolution, anticipated for the coming days.
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“I’m a hard yes on the Hegseth resolution,” Jeffries said. “The so-called secretary of defence has abused his power, undermined our national security, and engineered this reckless and costly war of choice in Iran.”
The impeachment resolution has been spearheaded by outgoing Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a vocal critic of the US-Israel war on Iran .
“Pete Hegseth has got to go,” Jeffries added. “I believe there will be incredibly strong support for that resolution.”
Jeffries is poised to become the next speaker in the House of Representatives after Democrats notched a historic victory in the November 3 midterm elections.
Both the House and the Senate flipped into Democratic control, with the left-wing party making some of its biggest gains in the lower chamber in more than half a century.
Democrats are expected to use their new congressional majorities to launch investigations into the Trump administration.
There have also been concerns, voiced by Trump himself, that he and other top officials could face impeachment.
In Sunday’s interview, Jeffries said the Democratic majority would move “aggressively” in its first 100 days in office, both to address affordability and “unprecedented corruption” under Trump.
“We are committed to cleaning up the mess wherever it’s found,” Jeffries said. “That’s in Congress, in the Supreme Court, and with respect to this administration.”
Currently, Republicans hold a government “trifecta”, with control of both chambers of Congress and the presidency. The Supreme Court also boasts a conservative supermajority, shaped by three Trump appointees.
But a new Congress will be sworn in on January 3. In the coming weeks, Democrats will choose their party leaders for both…