Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose term ends in January 2027, would be “great” to lead the Department of War if his articles of impeachment succeeded in ousting Pete Hegseth.

However, Massie told reporters he only mentioned DeSantis because he thinks the Florida governor doesn’t want the job.

DEVELOPING: Thomas Massie Plans To Trigger Vote On Impeachment Articles Against Pete Hegseth Today

"It's up to the president to decide," Massie said.

"And if I named a name, they would probably never put that person in there," he continued.

"But I will name a name cause I suspect he doesn't want the job. I think Ron DeSantis would be great at it. I don't think he would run into the same problems that Hegseth has. Ron DeSantis is a jag lawyer, right? Like, he understands the legality and constitutional boundaries between the legislative and the executive branch. So, he'd be great at that," Massie explained.

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"I'm only telling you his name because I think he probably doesn't want it and because I would have just jinxed him by saying his name," he added.

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More from the Washington Examiner:

DeSantis was floated as an option to lead the Department of War at the start of Trump’s second term, but the president ultimately appointed Hegseth.

The term-limited governor served in the Navy as a judge advocate general, having commissioned while studying at Harvard University. During his tenure, DeSantis earned a Bronze Star during his deployment to Iraq from 2007 until 2008.

After Democrats took majorities in the Senate and the House of Representatives, DeSantis has launched a media blitz arguing why Republicans suffered the defeats, leading many to suspect he's gearing up for another presidential run.

“This midterm, no question, was a rebuke of the president and the Congress by Democrats, independents and some Republicans that crossed over,” DeSantis told Laura Ingraham.

“But a lot of our voters who stayed home, they stayed home because they were frustrated with the lack of productivity from Republicans in the House and Senate," DeSantis continued.

"That's just a fact. They were promised big things, and they didn't deliver it," he added.

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The Hill shared further:

Exit polling from Tuesday indicated that economic issues were the central motivating factor for many voters in this election, with 75 percent of voters in a CBS News poll saying the condition of the U.S. economy was “not good.”

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An analysis by The New York Times, looking at nationwide exit surveys, found that voters from every demographic moved toward favoring Democratic candidates in this election from 2024.

The Democratic Party secured notable victories in red states like Texas, Kansas and South Carolina and flipped control of both chambers of Congress, results that have been labeled a “blue tsunami.”

In DeSantis’s Florida, Democrats gained ground in state races and defeated GOP candidates for House seats, although Republicans maintained control of other major statewide offices.

The GOP issued their own analysis of what went wrong in Tuesday’s election. Texas Sens. John Cornyn (R) and Ted Cruz (R) responded to the historic defeats of Republican candidates in their state’s Senate and gubernatorial races on Wednesday.

In an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal, titled “Republicans Forgot How to Win Elections,” Cornyn said the GOP failed on four fronts in the midterms: broad voter appeal, candidate likeability, ability to deliver on promises and integrity.

“This week’s beat-down wasn’t only foreseeable, it was foreseen,” the Republican, who lost his reelection primary bid to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, added.

Cruz warned that Texans would be “hurt” after Democratic state Reps. James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa won the state’s Senate and gubernatorial races, respectively.

 

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