By Indianara Goz
In northern Kentucky, the push by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie to remove Pete Hegseth from the helm of the Pentagon no longer has consensus, even among people who know Massie well. In Covington, Newport, Erlanger and Fort Wright, towns across the river from Cincinnati, residents gave opposite answers about the congressman, who wants to impeach the secretary of war over the war with Iran.
The House of Representatives, controlled by Republicans, voted to send the impeachment resolution against Hegseth to a committee, which in practice holds up the process. But from January, Democrats take over the chamber and have already signaled they will pick the effort back up. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, of New York, has declared support for impeachment.
Kentucky voters split on Massie
Richard Hassebrock, a Covington resident, does not call himself an unconditional fan of the congressman, but he approves of the fight this time. In his view, Massie has principles and takes a stand, something he says almost all of Congress lacks. Hassebrock lamented Massie's defeat in the primary and stressed his independence.
Rilla, from Fort Wright, saw it differently. She said she was proud of Massie for standing up to the president, but believes the congressman is "trying to get back at Trump." She is also against the war with Iran, especially the idea of military action without Congress's approval. "Nobody should declare war without Congress taking part," she said.
The harshest voice against the push came from Craig Cuskey, who works in Covington but lives on the outskirts of Louisville. He called the initiative "pure nitpicking" and "petty," and said his opinion of the congressman has worsened. Cuskey also defended Hegseth: he was skeptical about the appointment at first but came to admire the secretary's performance. In his view, Hegseth follows the orders of the commander in chief.
Randall Thompson, of Newport, was even more direct. Dressed in a military uniform on Veterans Day, he said he supports the troops and Pete Hegseth. He recalled that the two served in the same region of Iraq during missions, and spoke of the secretary as a fellow soldier.
Iran war divides even conservatives
Phil Wiseman, of Independence, describes himself as a "RINO," an acronym conservatives use to mock a "Republican in name only." He voted for an independent instead of backing Ed Gallrein, the Trump-endorsed candidate who beat Massie in this year's Kentucky primary. Wiseman, however, did not spare the Pentagon. He said the war is "very poorly thought out" and asked who is advising Hegseth. "If you're going to fight a war, you need a defined objective," he said, comparing the case to the American quagmire in Afghanistan.
Anthony Tuemler, also of Covington, supports the impeachment and accuses Hegseth of violating the Constitution in his handling of the war. Even so, he said he is glad Massie is leaving Congress, though he acknowledged that Massie was the only one who spoke up when it was needed. "The only thing that bothers me is that, when it came time to say the right things, Massie was the one who spoke," he said.
Why it matters and what comes next
The dispute goes beyond Hegseth. Democratic lawmakers are also targeting Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, White House chief of staff Stephen Miller and border czar Tom Homan. If Democrats control the House in January, the fight between Congress and the White House is likely to take on a new dimension.
For foreign readers, the Kentucky voices show that the debate over the Iran war cuts across party lines. Massie is a Republican who broke with President Donald Trump and lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger, yet the voters around him still disagree on both the congressman and the secretary.
VDD Analysis
For the conservative reader, the message from Kentucky is clear: the base does not reject criticism of how the war is being conducted, but it is wary of those who use their office to settle scores with the president. While the left prepares to turn impeachment into a weapon next year, those who defend the Pentagon's leadership and the unity of the right need to answer with facts, not resentment.
