Army Veteran Who Flipped North Carolina House Seat Calls for Pete Hegseth’s Impeachment

A U.S. Army veteran who flipped a seat in North Carolina in Tuesday’s midterm elections has said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth should “absolutely” face impeachment.

On Tuesday, Rep.-elect Richard Ojeda, (D-N.C.), won the state’s 9th Congressional District, defeating National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Richard Hudson (R-N.C) by about two percentage points. Republicans had previously held the district since 1963, and Ojeda’s win was one of many nationwide that obliterated the GOP’s previous majorities in both chambers of Congress.

Since his win, Ojeda has focussed his efforts on speaking out against Hegseth, referencing in particular the war with Iran as justification for impeachment.

“I absolutely think that this administration definitely needs to be investigated,” Ojeda said in a Thursday interview with CNN. “We can impeach the people that are part of the administration that have done so many horrific things.”

Asked whether Hegseth should face impeachment, Ojeda added: “Absolutely.”

“We are committed to a war with no exit strategy,” he said. “There needs to be accountability for this, and I think that we are going to absolutely do that as soon as we get there.”

Pentagon Continues to Push Back

The Pentagon has maintained defiance against new calls for impeachment against the defense secretary.

“Secretary Hegseth will not back down or be deterred by politicians seeking to score partisan points or launch phony investigations where no wrongdoing exists,” chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told Military.com on Friday.

“The Department of War has followed the law and our Secretary will continue to stand and fight every single day to support and defend the Constitution, lead our troops, and protect America. We will continue to drive President Trump’s agenda at the Department of War—despite threats of sham witch hunts from Democrats—and Secretary Hegseth is 100% committed to leading the Department until the end of President Trump’s term in office,” Parnell added.

It’s not just Democrats who have gone after Hegseth, however. Outgoing Republican Rep. Thomas Massie previously introduced articles of impeachment against him, which led to Congress going into recess.

In a Nov. 4 X post, Massie said the following: “There is one contingency in which I won’t reintroduce the articles of impeachment: Hegseth resigns.”

Who is Richard Ojeda?

Ojeda is a retired U.S. Army major. He served 24 years in the military, beginning his service as an enlisted soldier in 1988 and earning an officer commission in 1997.

As an engineer officer and paratrooper, Ojeda deployed multiple times, serving combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. His highly decorated service includes two Bronze Star Medals, a Combat Action Badge, and a Master Parachutist Badge.

He first ran for the U.S. House in 2014, losing the Democratic primary. He rebounded in 2016, successfully winning a seat in the West Virginia State Senate.

In 2018, Ojeda ran a high-profile campaign for West Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District but lost the general election. He then launched a brief 2020 presidential primary bid and later challenged U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito in 2020, falling short in the Democratic primary.

Ojeda has previously spoken out against Hegseth amid the continued war with Iran.

“The U.S. military has a Pete Hegseth problem,” Ojeda wrote on X in August. “Our troops are not props. The Pentagon is not a playground for incompetent fox news hacks with something to prove about their manliness.”

“I carry the names of 13 brothers I lost in war tattooed on my body. I know exactly who pays the price when the people at the top screw up,” he added.

Hegseth Speaks Out For Himself

Despite the scrutiny and Tuesday’s election results, Hegseth has remained defiant about his political future. He issued his own response separate from the Pentagon.

“This is not about me,” Hegseth said in a video on X, and accused “the other side” of being “obsessed” with him.

“It’s all about the politics of personal destruction,” he said. “Didn’t work against President Trump, and it won’t work with me. You can rest assured of that.”

Overall, according to the veterans’ advocacy group With Honor, 752 veterans registered to run for the House and Senate this year—the highest number they have recorded since they started tracking this data in 2018.