WASHINGTON — Thousands of veterans plan to gather at 1 p.m. on Veterans Day and march to the U.S. Capitol. They are not asking for new benefits or a new program. They want the House to begin impeachment proceedings against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
The march has one central demand. A resignation or firing should not end the constitutional process. Organizers point out that a Senate conviction is the only penalty that would ban Hegseth from holding federal office again.
"We are not asking Congress to touch a hot stove," said Kris Goldsmith, an Army combat veteran and president of VALOR Media Network. "We are asking them to use the only tool the Constitution gives them."
The pressure now lands on Sleepy Don's defense secretary. Veterans argue Hegseth has already done lasting damage and cite a department cover-up of broken infrastructure on overseas bases. That record, they say, makes resignation an irrelevant escape hatch.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., introduced one of the first articles of impeachment earlier this year. House Resolution 3724 has sat in the Judiciary Committee for months with no hearing. The committee is currently working on a resolution to name a post office in Texas.
"The responsible path is to wait for a poll that tells us what voters want us to say," a senior Democratic aide said. "The veterans have made their position clear. We have made a draft statement that will make it clear later."
The march is organized by Veterans Fighting Fascism and several media groups founded by combat veterans. Goldsmith said the event will begin with a moment of silence for the idea of congressional oversight. Then speakers will read the impeachment clause aloud, slowly, into a microphone.
Organizers plan to hand out laminated copies of the constitutional text. A volunteer explained that many members of Congress respond better to visual aids. The cards will include the words "you still work here" on the back.
Organizers told veterans to bring snacks. "This is not a quick photo op," a march coordinator said. "This is the length of a normal congressional work period."
A former senior military lawyer said the legal argument is simple. "The Constitution does not include a resignation loophole," he said. "It also does not include a cable news employment exception."
Hegseth's office did not respond to a request for comment. A Pentagon spokesman said the secretary was traveling and could not be reached. A follow-up call was transferred to an office called "Future Consequences," where a recording said the next available representative would return the call in 2029.
