Hegseth calls impeachment effort over Iran war a farce

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called a Republican lawmaker’s effort to impeach him a “farce” and “sabotage” Tuesday, defending U.S. military operations in Iran, Latin America and Venezuela as the House prepared to consider the charges.

“It’s a farce and it’s a stunt and everybody knows it,” Hegseth said at a Pentagon news conference. “This is not patriotism. This is sabotage.”

Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky reintroduced articles of impeachment Monday, bringing eight charges against Hegseth. They concern the war with Iran, strikes on boats alleged to be carrying drugs and other military actions ordered by President Donald Trump. Massie accused Hegseth of “waging the Iran war despite no declaration of war, statutory authorization, attack on the United States, or imminent threat.”

Hegseth characterized the objections as policy disagreements and said the impeachment effort sent a dangerous message to U.S. adversaries. He compared it with the two failed attempts to impeach Trump during his first term. “They will fail again, and if standing with President Trump puts me in that company, I’ll take that company every day of the week,” he said.

Trump backed Hegseth in a social media post shortly after the news conference, saying the defense secretary deserved an “A” PLUS, PLUS, PLUS” for his response. Trump called Massie, a longtime critic who is retiring from Congress at the end of the year, a “TOTAL LOSER!”

Because Massie filed the measure as privileged under House rules, Republican leaders must bring it to the floor within two legislative days, NBC News reported. Al Jazeera reported that the House was likely to take an initial procedural vote Tuesday on whether to debate the resolution. A simple majority would be needed to approve the articles in the House; the Senate would then decide whether to convict and remove Hegseth. Republicans could also move to kill the resolution with a majority vote.

At his first Pentagon news conference in nearly six months, according to Al Jazeera, Hegseth defended the record behind the charges. He said strikes on alleged drug boats protected Americans from narcotraffickers and that each had saved “thousands of American lives.” He also rejected criticism of the U.S. operation that seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. “He was not kidnapped; he was brought to justice,” Hegseth said. Maduro and his wife face U.S. charges that he has denied, NBC News reported.

“I stand behind every one of these operations. I was proud to execute them, and I would do it again tomorrow,” Hegseth said.

The Iran war is in its ninth month, though Trump had described it as a “minor incursion” that would last four to six weeks, NBC News reported. The outlet also reported that U.S. munitions are depleted, that congressional lawmakers from both parties have expressed frustration over information from Hegseth about costs that could reach $100 billion, and that several U.S. military aircraft recently left a base in Britain amid threats from Iran.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended Hegseth on Tuesday, saying the military actions addressed “imminent threats” and that Hegseth had followed direct orders from Trump.