Secretary of War Pete Hegseth might have avoided impeachment this week, but he wasn’t able to get away with breaking the rules at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Veterans Day.
“All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times,” boomed the sentinel’s voice as Hegseth and his companions could he heard loudly laughing while taking photographs.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a monument that serves as a symbolic grave for all who have died at war but whose remains remain unidentified. It is a tradition that began during World War I.
“Soldiers were first assigned to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in 1926, to discourage visitors from climbing or stepping on it,” according to the Department of War. “In 1937, the guards became a 24/7 presence, standing watch over the Unknown Soldier at all times.”
There has been a guard there every minute of every day for nearly 90 years. A strict process is in place to select guards. C-SPAN said their behavior of Hegseth’s group is not allowed at the memorial and that it prompted the sentinel’s reprimand.
Earlier in the week Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) aimed to impeach Hegseth over alleged violations of the War Powers Resolution of 1973 related to the U.S. military actions in Iran this year. However, the effort fell apart in the absence of 11 Democratic representatives, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who was formerly speaker of the House.
SFGATE reported that Pelosi missed the vote while traveling to receive a lifetime achievement award in San Francisco. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.) criticized the absence of her Democratic peers.
“It’s absolutely unacceptable that any vote would be lost on absences, like just period. It’s totally unacceptable, and we need to raise it up back again as soon as possible and make sure everyone gets on it,” Ocasio Cortez said, according to The Hill.
In the meantime, the Department of War said in a Tuesday statement that “Hegseth said impeachment resolution presented to the House of Representatives is over policy disagreements, not the sort of offenses identified in the impeachment clause. He also said the threat of impeachment sends a troubling signal to the nation’s adversaries.”
President Donald Trump also called in to C-SPAN to defend Hegseth this week. Over the past few months, Hegseth has made headlines over reportedly bleak conditions for U.S. servicemembers, launching a Department of Religious Affairs and allegedly damaging a globe used by President Dwight D. Eisenhower during World War II.
