Stephen A. Smith Rips Democrats Over Failed Hegseth Impeachment Push: ‘Exactly What We Don’t Need’

Stephen A. Smith tore into Democrats over the failed attempt to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. He argued the effort shows a party more interested in “pomp and circumstance” than in tackling real problems.

The outspoken ESPN personality made the remarks in a radio segment Thursday. Smith made clear he would be fine with seeing Hegseth go, but he drew a hard line at impeachment.

“I have no problem with that, but impeachment is another matter entirely,” Smith said.

Smith questioned why lawmakers would reach for impeachment at all instead of focusing on the issues voters care about.
“It’s exactly what we don’t need,” Smith said.

The effort was led by outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who lost his primary this summer after Trump endorsed a challenger. On Monday, Massie filed a privileged resolution with eight articles of impeachment.

The articles centered largely on the war in Iran, which Massie said Hegseth waged without congressional authorization. Others targeted the capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro and Hegseth’s effort to punish Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., over a video urging troops to refuse illegal orders.

Democrats rallied behind the resolution, but the effort fell apart on the House floor Tuesday. All but one Republican voted to kill the measure, which was shelved 211-204.

Eleven Democrats failed to show up for the vote. That left the party open to criticism that it fumbled its own push.

Hegseth dismissed the impeachment effort at his first Pentagon news conference in months.

“It’s a farce, and it’s a stunt, and everybody knows it,” Hegseth said.

President Trump also came to his defense on Truth Social. He called Massie “a total loser” and said Hegseth “should be praised, not impeached.”
The botched vote has some top Democrats rethinking their approach before they take control of the House in January.

“I think we should do oversight and investigations under our own timetable, not Tom Massie’s,” said Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. He added that he wants affordability to stay at the center of the party’s agenda.

Others aren’t ready to drop the issue. Rep. Greg Meeks, D-N.Y., the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that “everything’s on the table.” Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, has said he is inclined to back proceedings against Hegseth.

Massie’s resolution will expire when the current Congress ends Jan. 3, 2027. A separate set of six impeachment articles filed in April by Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., has stalled in committee.

This isn’t the first time Smith has broken with Democrats over national security. Last year, he blasted Kelly and other Democratic lawmakers over their video telling service members to refuse illegal orders. He said at the time that they should have gone through proper channels.