Pete Hegseth declared himself safe from impeachment. Then came eight charges

On Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told transgender Americans they were unfit to serve their country. He described his own leadership in considerably more generous terms: strength restored, weakness banished, a military rebuilt. Anyone seeking his removal, he assured viewers, would fail.On Monday, a Republican congressman moved to test that assurance.Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky reintroduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth, setting up House action within two legislative days over allegations that include unauthorized warfare, unlawful killings and retaliation against a political critic.Even if Hegseth survives that effort, another confrontation awaits in January. Rep. Robert Garcia, the California Democrat poised to lead the House Oversight Committee, told The Advocate that the administration’s treatment of transgender people, including the military ban, would draw scrutiny.Hegseth’s declaration of success could become part of the record lawmakers examine.Related: Testosterone-obsessed Pete Hegseth has a bank account that jumped from under $50,000 to over $1 millionA declaration of strengthIn his roughly six-minute video posted Thursday, Hegseth moved between assertions of military accomplishment and domestic political grievances. He attacked diversity initiatives, dismissed climate change as a military concern and defended religion’s place within the armed forces.“We ended the weird and the woke and elevated patriots and strength,” he said. His description of the military’s restored purpose explicitly excluded transgender people.“Being trans is a mental illness incompatible with military service,” Hegseth said.The American Psychiatric Association explains that being transgender is not a psychiatric diagnosis.His treatment of lethal force was similarly categorical.“Narco terrorists should die, not be caught and released,” he said.Massie’s resolution alleges that Hegseth replaced maritime law enforcement with unauthorize