Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday called the effort to impeach him a farce that would fail, using his first Pentagon news conference in six months to defend the Trump administration's war in Iran and its strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats. "It's a farce, and it's a stunt," Hegseth said, calling the criticism "policy disagreements" and the impeachment push "sabotage." "This is not patriotism, this is sabotage."
Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, introduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth on Monday. Three accuse him of violating the War Powers Resolution over the war in Iran; others cover the operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen, alleged failures to minimize civilian casualties, "extrajudicial killings" on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, and free-speech violations against Sen. Mark Kelly.
Hegseth, who has said "everything has been lawful from day one" in the operations, celebrated the Iran campaign as a historic victory, saying the United States struck more than 13,000 targets and destroyed much of Iran's nuclear industrial capacity. He said President Donald Trump had "kicked their teeth in" in Iran and warned that anyone pursuing American service members would have to "come through me."
The House is expected to hold a first procedural vote on Tuesday on whether to kill the resolution, Massie said. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries endorsed the effort on Sunday, and Democrats are likely to revive proceedings if Hegseth is not removed before the new Congress is sworn in on January 3. If impeached, Hegseth would be only the third cabinet official in American history to face that step.
Hegseth also used the briefing to urge Congress to pass the Pentagon's record $1.5 trillion budget request, a figure lawmakers have signaled is unlikely to pass even under Republican control. His family sat in the front row, and questions were given to conservative outlets only.
President Trump, who defended Hegseth in a Truth Social post after the briefing, said the secretary earned an "A PLUS, PLUS, PLUS." Massie, who lost his primary this year to a Trump-backed challenger and is leaving office, has said Hegseth's actions amount to "high crimes and misdemeanors." Hegseth has campaigned against Massie's re-election bid and called him a "single rogue legislator loaded with personal animus against the president."
