Page A233From§Eachthe evening edition — 10 November 2026
As it ran on the front
I wrote this down. Give me a second, the page is stuck to the one behind it — there, found it. September 11th, this year, the President and the Secretary of War stood up on the anniversary and tied the Iran strike into the day's speeches. I wrote down the date because I wanted to see which day they'd pick to talk about it. Eight days after that, another page: the Secretary told the Hill he's behind the President on banning certain outlets from covering the building he runs.
Next page, October 19th.…
…(cont) Then November fills the notebook fast. The 5th: Representative Massie on CNN, calling his own impeachment resolution 'a much gentler version' of what Democrats plan to do once they hold the gavel. Gentler than what — I wrote that in the margin and never got an answer, because he didn't finish the thought either. The 6th: Chairman Comer, who runs oversight for the Secretary's own party, says out loud there are 'a lot of questions about Hegseth.' I underlined 'a lot.'
Sunday the 9th is a thick page, not because I'm stuck on it, just because there was a lot to write. The Guardian had the President, in one briefing, calling the Iran war both won and still something being won. Same man, same morning. The Washington Examiner had Representative Don Bacon, who says on the record he wants the Secretary gone, asked flat out how he'd vote on the impeachment push, and not answering. CBS had video of Minority Leader Jeffries and Massie taking questions right after new articles got introduced. Does a war finished enough to be called won need a Secretary still being impeached over how he ran it?
Monday's page is today's. Massie filed articles of impeachment against the Secretary — CBS has that filed, his name on top. Hours later the President answered on Truth Social: Massie is 'a total loser' trying to impeach 'perhaps the most popular and successful military official in the Country,' recruitment at an 'ALL-TIME' high. I wrote 'ALL-TIME' in capitals because that's how he wrote it. Massie told CNN's Kaitlan Collins the same day there's a 'high probability' the Secretary won't make it to the new year. The BBC says the floor vote will likely fail, and that filing it wasn't really about the count — it's about pushing the President to fire the Secretary himself, before Democrats get a turn at impeaching him next year. So which is on the page: a Secretary too popular to touch, or one who might not see January?
I think of it like the toll plaza off the turnpike, the one by the exit where I get the fan belt looked at. You pay going in — one lump sum, done, receipt in your hand. Except the account doesn't close there. It keeps drawing down behind you, a little every mile, until somebody tells you the balance. Won is the receipt. Winning is the account still open. Both words came out of the same briefing.
My wife asked, over the sink, what happens to him next. I told her I only write down what they say.
Oh — before I go. Representative Bacon, the one who told the Washington Examiner he wants the Secretary gone. Has anybody found out yet how he plans to vote on the thing he says he wants?
“Trump says the guy's the most popular secretary of war in the country, the same week his own party files to impeach him. Bacon tells a reporter straight out he wants Hegseth gone, then won't tell the same reporter how he'd vote to make that happen. That's not confusion — that's a guy saving his seat while somebody else does the actual work.”
“Recruitment's at an all-time high — his words, not mine, but sure, I'll say it too. Massie's own chairman says there's "a lot of questions" about Hegseth, but that's just Congress doing oversight, that's healthy, that's — okay, maybe that's not the ringing endorsement I wanted to lead with.”
Earlier in this story
The receipts
The Pentagon has failed its audit eight years running — the only major federal agency never to pass one Military Times, 19 December 2025
Details on impeachment articles against Pete HegsethRep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, filed articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday. Caitlin Huey-Burns reports.
The Pentagon has failed its audit eight years running - the only major federal agency never to pass one Military Times, 19 December 2025
Massie says his Hegseth impeachment resolution 'much gentler' than what Democrats planRep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who has sparred with his own party in the past year, said Thursday morning that his call to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is “a much gentler version” of what could happen when Democrats take control of Congress.
The Pentagon has failed its audit eight years running - the only major federal agency never to pass one Military Times, 19 December 2025
Trump says Hegseth should be praised, not impeachedPresident Trump on Monday shot back at efforts to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. “Defeated Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, a total loser, is trying to Impeach perhaps the most popular and successful military official in the Country, Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth,” Trump said in a Truth Social post Monday night.
The Pentagon has failed its audit eight years running - the only major federal agency never to pass one Military Times, 19 December 2025
Massie: 'High probability' Hegseth won't make it to the end of the yearRep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who is leading an impeachment effort against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, said Monday that Hegseth will not be in his role by the new year. In an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “The Source,”
The effort will likely fail, but Representative Thomas Massie wants to push Trump to fire Hegseth before Democrats can launch their own impeachment process next year.
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.