特朗普总统周一突然现身白宫新闻发布室，攻击肯塔基州共和党众议员托马斯·马西，称他是“彻头彻尾的失败者”，原因是马西试图弹劾国防部长皮特·赫格塞思。“他是个病得不轻的人。实际上，他有点问题。现在他又盯上了皮特·赫格塞思。他不喜欢赫格塞思，但说真的，赫格塞思做了什么？”特朗普说。当天早些时候，马西兑现了自己的承诺，对赫格塞思提出八项弹劾条款，并于下午2点刚过在众议院议事厅大声宣读。
President Trump on Monday used a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room to attack Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who he called a “stone cold loser” for his effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. “He’s a sick, sick guy. There’s something wrong with him, actually. Now he’s after Pete Hegseth. He doesn’t like Hegseth, but really, what has Hegseth done?”Trump said.
马西正推动众议院在本周晚些时候就罢免这位五角大楼负责人进行投票。他指控赫格塞思在多项五角大楼行动中滥用权力，包括伊朗战争、从委内瑞拉总统本国将其抓捕，以及在国际水域对涉嫌毒品走私者实施法外处决。随后，在一场就伊朗冲突和俄乌战争最新情况作通报的即席简报会上，特朗普被问及是否看过马西的讲话。
Massie earlier in the day followed through on his promise to bring eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth, reading them aloud on the House floor shortly after 2 p.m. Massie is forcing a House vote later in the week to remove the Pentagon chief, who he accused of abusing his powers in relation to several Pentagon operations, including the Iran war, the seizure of the Venezuelan president from his own country, and the extrajudicial killings of alleged drug smugglers in international waters. Later, in an impromptu briefing offering updates on the conflict with Iran and the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump was asked whether he had seen Massie’s speech.
“马西是个失败者。他不该占用国会的时间，也不该占用参议院的时间，或者做他正在做的任何事。这家伙是个彻头彻尾的失败者，”特朗普说。特朗普还表示，即使赫格塞思被众议院弹劾，他也会支持赫格塞思。“会，我会支持，”特朗普说。“他赢了两场战争。他是负责人。我们都赢了。”但在CNN的凯特兰·柯林斯追问他马西对这位五角大楼负责人提出弹劾条款的理由、并称马西指控赫格塞思有违法行为后，交锋变得难听。
“Massie’s a loser. He shouldn’t be taking up the time of Congress, or the Senate or anything that he’s doing. The guy’s a stone cold loser,” Trump said. Trump also said he will stand behind Hegseth even if he is impeached by the House of Representatives. “Yeah, I’ll stand by,” Trump said. “He won two wars. He was in charge. We all won.”But the exchange grew nasty after CNN’s Kaitlan Collins pressed him on Massie’s reasoning for bringing impeachment articles against the Pentagon chief, saying he has accused Hegseth of illegal acts.
“马西是个失败者，就像你在CNN是个失败者一样，就像你们的收视率是个失败者一样，马西是个失败者，彻头彻尾的失败者，”特朗普说。马西在初选中输给了特朗普支持的挑战者，未能赢得连任。“我挑战了一个以他自己的方式在本州颇受欢迎的人，我狠狠地击败了他，轻松击败了他，而且是用一个从未参选过的人，”特朗普谈到那场选举时说。
“Massie’s a loser, just like you’re a loser at CNN, just like your ratings are a loser, Massie is a loser, stone cold loser,” Trump said. Massie lost his bid for reelection in the primary to a Trump-backed challenger. “I took on a guy that was, in his own way, sort of popular in his state, and I beat him badly, beat him easily with a man that never ran before,” Trump said, referring to the election.
“马西心里充满了仇恨……我听说了马西做的事。我不想看。我不想浪费时间看他。我们赢了两场战争。我们赢了两场战争，让世界变得安全得多。”这是两个月来马西第二次寻求罢免赫格塞思。众议院共和党领袖通过让议员们提前一天开始中期选举休会，阻挠了第一次行动，实际上避免了一场可能让一些脆弱的现任议员陷入困境的投票。
“Massie has a lot of hatred in his heart. . . . I heard what Massey did. I don't want to watch. I don't want to waste my time watching him. We won two wars. We won two wars, and we've made the world a lot safer place.”This is the second time in two months Massie has sought to oust Hegseth. House GOP leaders blocked the first effort by sending lawmakers home a day early for the pre-midterm recess, effectively avoiding a vote that might have been difficult for some vulnerable incumbents.
但在共和党遭遇惨败的中期选举后——这至少部分是对伊朗战争的公投，而赫格塞思已成为该战争的公众代言人——数十名在连任竞选中失利的共和党现任议员将不再担心来自特朗普的政治报复，从而可以自由地按良心投票。
But after Republicans suffered devastating midterm losses - at least in part a referendum on the Iran war, for which Hegseth has become the public face - dozens of GOP incumbents who lost their reelection bids will be newly liberated to vote their consciences without fear of political repercussions from Trump.