Trump defends Hegseth amid impeachment push, calls him 'most responsible for the war' in Iran

President Donald Trump defended Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday, November 8, against calls to impeach him, crediting him with helping win two wars and dismantle Iran's nuclear capabilities. Hegseth, Trump said, was guilty of "winning two wars," referring to the Iran conflict and the operation to capture Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela.

Trump also said it was hard to justify impeaching "one of the guys who was most responsible" for those outcomes.

“We saved Israel and the Middle East. There would be no Israel even if we had not saved them from Iran," said Trump. “And what are we going to do with one of the guys that was most responsible for the war? We want to impeach him."

Trump made the remark as he addressed the press corps regarding the bipartisan push to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. Trump said Wednesday that Hegseth would remain on the job, even as he acknowledged the Iran war had contributed to the party's sweeping losses. According to reports from The Atlantic, the president has been looking for someone to hold accountable for the direction of the war. He has spoken with advisers about Hegseth and General Dan Caine. A White House official told Fox News that Trump would ultimately hold Hegseth accountable, saying it would "play out in the lame duck."

While Trump is verbally defending Hegseth against impeachment, he is also publicly identifying him as one of the people most responsible for the Iran war.

Also Read: Trump says new strikes on Iran 'highly unlikely', warns US can 'knock down' 38 bridges in an hour

Jeffries backing impeachment of Hegseth

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and outgoing Republican Congressman Thomas Massie are pushing for the impeachment of Hegseth. Jeffries is set to become the first Black Speaker of the House. He accused Hegseth of abusing his power and "engineering" a reckless war that drove up prices for Americans

“I'm a hard yes on the Hegseth resolution. The so-called secretary of defence has abused his power, undermined our national security, and engineered this reckless and costly war of choice in Iran, which has skyrocketed prices on the American people and made the country less safe,” said Jeffries to ABC News.

Meanwhile, outgoing Republican Congressman Thomas Massie said that he intends to introduce a privileged resolution to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth as early as Monday, November 9, 2026. Massie’s resolution contains eight articles of impeachment. The primary charge accuses Hegseth of violating the War Powers Resolution of 1973 by orchestrating the war in Iran without required congressional authorisation. He also urged that Trump should replace Pete Hegseth himself before Democrats take control of Congress in January 2027, if he doesn't want a political struggle for the new defence leadership.

The White House has said Trump has full confidence in both men. The war, which began February 28, has so far cost an estimated $47.1 billion, according to the Defence Department.