Pete Hegseth escaped impeachment. Black leaders say his removal is inevitable.

Black veterans and Senator Raphael Warnock tell theGrio why Hegseth should face consequences for his leadership of the Pentagon.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth managed to dodge a congressional effort to impeach him from office. But Black leaders tell theGrio that the nation’s top military chief must go one way or the other.

“There’s no question that Pete Hegseth is a present danger to our national security,” U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock told theGrio on Tuesday. “We have to use the powers of oversight to hold him accountable.”

Critics of Hegseth say the eight articles of impeachment against him, which were introduced by Republican U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, are necessary for accountability for the Trump administration’s costly and deadly war in Iran. However, every Republican, except Massie, in the U.S. House of Representatives voted against the impeachment measure–even though there are several GOP lawmakers who have been critical of Hegseth’s handling of the Iran war.

While Massie and Democrats were unsuccessful in advancing the impeachment measure, a Democratic-controlled Congress in January would likely have greater success.

“They are only prolonging the inevitable,” said Victor LaGroon, a U.S. Army veteran and strategist who served as chief diversity officer for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in the Biden administration. He told theGrio, “At the end of the day, the American people have spoken; they demand change.”

The articles of impeachment accused Hegseth of violating the U.S. Constitution and formally charged him for several actions, including his directing of U.S. armed forces into hostilities against Iran without a declaration of war or congressional authorization; extrajudicial killings such as the U.S. airstrikes on small boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean; the killing of civilians; and retaliation against a sitting U.S. senator.

The Iran war has lasted eight months and has caused gas and energy prices to skyrocket to record levels.

“He has dragged us into a lawless and reckless war of choice because he is so in over his head. There are no clear objectives for this war…He cannot even articulate clearly what victory looks like,” said Senator Warnock.

The Georgia lawmaker told theGrio, “As a result, Americans are less safe and gas is more expensive, and we need to get out of this war.” He added, “There’s no question that Hegseth needs to be held accountable.”

The rebuke against Hegseth was largely focused on the Iran war and other military actions, however, Black veterans who spoke with theGrio say the Defense Secretary should also be removed from office for how his leadership has harmed Black service members.

“While the articles related to the war and the boat strikes are certainly valid, I think his actions towards DEI are equally not only repugnant but a violation of military code as well as the law,” said Ed Anderson, a lead organizer with Common Defense and U.S. Air Force veteran.

Hegseth has used his office to block the promotions of Black and other minority service members, including women, and has eliminated DEI-related programs designed to be more inclusive for Black and brown military service members.

“These articles of impeachment include Hegseth’s removal of the military’s top lawyers, but do not include the removal of already approved Black and women officers from promotion lists,” said Kyle Bibby, co-founder and co-CEO of the Black Veterans Project.

Bibby told theGrio, “According to new reporting, these officers had promotions withheld over things like supporting command Pride events, sitting on a minority aviation panel at the Naval Academy, or disciplining service members who refused the mandatory COVID vaccine. Impeachment or not, these promotion decisions need to be investigated.”

“His relentless efforts to devalue and undermine the careers of leaders of color and women are in direct violation and serve as contradiction of what our armed forces seek to represent,” said LaGroon. “For many veterans, he is unworthy of appropriately representing America’s fighting forces and its legacy of service and sacrifice.”

Hegseth and the White House were defiant in the face of the impeachment effort. During a Tuesday morning press conference, the controversial secretary of the renamed Department of War said removing him from office would
put a “target on the backs” of U.S. service members and said it undermines U.S. missions in “real time.”

But Anderson argued it’s Hegseth who has put a target on the backs of U.S. service members. The veterans activist called out the firing of senior officials, including the Pentagon’s top military planner.

“How do you, in the middle of a war, or whatever you want to call it, get rid of your top defense official in charge of planning? It just doesn’t make any sense,” he said.

LaGroon says Hegseth’s conduct already undermines U.S. service members, telling theGrio he “violated every moral code we expect our service members to exemplify.”

He continued, “Values like duty, honor, respect, loyalty, discipline, and professionalism.” The Black veteran added, “He has demonstrated through his lack of respect and integrity that he is unable to represent our country and its fighting forces.”