President Donald Trump has turned on a member of his own party in public, calling Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky a “stone cold loser” after Massie moved to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The clash started on Monday, November 9, when Massie reintroduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth. Massie accused Hegseth of waging the war in Iran without authorization from Congress, violating the War Powers Resolution of 1973, failing to limit civilian casualties, and suppressing free speech, among other charges. Massie called Hegseth “a threat to the Constitution” and argued that he would remain one if he stayed in office.
Trump was asked about it by CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins. He made clear he would stand by Hegseth even if the House voted to impeach him.
“Massie says he’s carried out a lot. Massie’s a loser,” Trump said. “Massie is a loser, stone cold loser.”
It was not a one-line dismissal. Trump went on to praise Hegseth’s record in the job, pointing to the military operations in Venezuela and Iran and saying Hegseth had won both wars. He also asked why former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was never impeached after he disappeared for two weeks for medical treatment without telling the White House.
Hegseth has refused to step down. He has called Massie’s articles a “sham” and said he intends to serve through the end of Trump’s term. On Tuesday, November 10, he held his first Pentagon press conference in six months, a day after Massie filed the resolution, and dismissed the push as sabotage, not patriotism.
The House moved quickly to put the fight on hold. On Tuesday, after a procedural vote, the resolution was referred to the Judiciary Committee, effectively shelving it for now. Massie was the only Republican to vote alongside Democrats on that step, a sign of how isolated he is inside his own party at this moment.
The timing matters. Republicans lost the House and the Senate in the midterm elections on November 3, and Democrats take control in January. They have already promised to make Hegseth a priority target for investigation. That means this fight is paused, not finished. If Democrats bring the articles back next year, Hegseth would face a House vote, and if the House approved them, a trial in the Senate.
For now, though, the story is about something simpler: a president publicly humiliating a Republican congressman who challenged his defense secretary — and choosing loyalty to Hegseth over peace inside his own party.