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Today, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky says he’ll force the House to vote on impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during the first week of the lame-duck session in November. The parents of Minneapolis VA nurse Alex Pretti, who was killed by federal agents in January, are accusing the Trump administration of protecting their son’s killers. Donald Trump’s proposed Triumphal Arch would cast a shadow over veterans’ graves at Arlington National Cemetery 284 days a year, according to a new analysis. And one former staffer to Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine says her latest attack ad against Democrat Troy Jackson may have just ended her campaign.
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Thomas Massie says impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is a “week one” issue when the House of Representatives returns for its lame-duck session. In a phone interview Monday, Massie said he’ll give notice the week of November 9 that he’s bringing his resolution as a question of the privileges of the House.
That procedural move matters. If the parliamentarian agrees the resolution qualifies, the speaker has up to two legislative days to schedule a vote, either on impeachment itself or on a motion to table it.
Massie, who lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger and is leaving Congress after this session, likes his odds. He said he gives it “better than a 50 percent chance of passing,” counting on every Democrat plus a handful of Republicans who may feel freer now that their campaigns are over.
The resolution, which Massie read aloud on the House floor in September, has eight articles of impeachment. They accuse Hegseth of violating the 1973 War Powers Resolution in the Iran war, acting illegally in military campaigns in Venezuela, Yemen, the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, disregarding civilian protections, and suppressing a U.S. senator’s free speech.
Democrats are almost entirely united against Hegseth. Colorado Rep. Jason Crow told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that ousting him from the Pentagon is his top priority, because servicemembers deserve “competent, serious, real leadership.”
Absences could still decide the outcome in such a narrowly divided House, especially if defeated members skip votes. The House has only impeached two Cabinet members in history, War Secretary William Belknap in 1876 and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in 2024, and the Senate convicted neither.
Michael and Susan Pretti spoke publicly on Tuesday for the first time since federal agents shot and killed their son, Alex, in January. Alex was a 37-year-old ICU nurse protesting Trump’s ICE crackdown in Minneapolis, and he was killed just days after ICE agents killed another U.S. citizen, Renee Good, in broad daylight.
At a press conference, Michael Pretti said the family’s experience with the Justice Department has left them wondering whether Alex will ever get justice. He then demanded that federal officials “do your job and stop shielding Alex’s killers.”
Trump officials quickly defended the agents, claiming Pretti tried to attack them with a handgun he was carrying legally. Bystander videos contradict that account. They show Pretti holding a phone and trying to help a protester who’d been shoved to the ground when agents pinned him down and shot him.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty opened a criminal investigation and sued the administration in March for access to evidence. The feds handed over what she called “voluminous” material, but her office later discovered some information had been withheld, and that the government has since gathered more, including grand jury material and witness statements.
Federal prosecutors say they don’t have to share anything else because Moriarty hasn’t filed charges yet. The Justice Department told Reuters that contact with families usually comes later, at stages like indictment or trial.
Susan Pretti described it as a miserable year for the family. She said all they want is justice for Alex and to be treated with the dignity and respect their son deserved.
Donald Trump has been planning to build a massive 250-foot arch in a traffic circle between Washington and Arlington, Virginia for the better part of a year. According to a 3D model built by the Washington Post, the shadow of the arch would cast a massive shadow across graves at Arlington National Cemetery for 284 days a year, covering more than 75,000 graves.
Most days the shadow would clear the cemetery before it opens, though it would linger during visiting hours on 26 days. In fall and winter, it would stretch over Memorial Bridge and the Lincoln Memorial. In spring and summer, it would fall on John F. Kennedy’s grave, and it would touch the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on more than 30 days.
The Interior Department calls the Post’s analysis “flawed,” saying its own modeling found less than two weeks, around the start of daylight saving time, when the shadow would hit the open cemetery. But Interior only checked a few times of day on a handful of dates, while the Post studied every day of the year.
The project is facing a pile of legal challenges. Three Vietnam veterans sued, arguing the arch would obstruct views of the cemetery, and Arlington County sued this month, saying the administration skipped a legally required environmental review.
The National Park Service acknowledged dozens of affected historic sites but refused to consider any other location. A Fine Arts commission packed with Trump appointees already gave early approval, and the National Capital Planning Commission takes up final approval on November 5, the same day construction could begin.
Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine is running a new attack ad against her Democratic challenger, former Maine State Senate President Troy Jackson, in the final week of the election cycle. At least one person who used to work for her thinks it may have sunk her campaign.
The ad features longtime Maine news anchor Bill Green mocking Jackson’s background as a logger. Green says he knows Jackson, but that “we’re not talking about buying a cord of wood here,” arguing Jackson lacks the tools to be effective in the Senate.
Among the harshest critics was Sam Patten, a former staffer for Collins who now edits the conservative publication, The Maine Wire. In a Facebook post flagged by Maine reporter Andy O’Brien, Patten wrote that he didn’t believe the ad was real until he called every TV station in the state and WAGM in Presque Isle confirmed it.
Patten argued Collins has spent more than 30 years hiding what he called her “intrinsic arrogance,” knowing it would be fatal in Maine politics. He said the ad was a public confession of disdain for “little people,” and that it was too bad Green got hurt by it. His conclusion: “The race is over.”
Whether he’s right is still an open question. A new Marist poll shows Jackson ahead by just two points among likely voters.
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Make sure to watch our interview with Kentucky Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Charles Booker tomorrow morning at 10 AM ET! Watch live on our homepage at RawAmerica.com.
I’m British Chris. Thanks for watching, and thanks for supporting independent news. And once again, please be sure to tap the ❤️ and hit restack so we can break through the algorithm and reach the people who really need these stories.