Hegseth calls impeachment push a 'political spectacle'; Trump gives him 'A PLUS, PLUS, PLUS'

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday (November 10) lashed out at the move to impeach him as a “political spectacle” by an outgoing congressional opponent of President Donald Trump. “What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, and it’s not accountability. It’s a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment,” Hegseth said.

Impeachment over Iran war

He claimed that a rogue lawmaker is targeting him over “policy disagreements”, not over the high crimes or offences the nation’s founders intended. The Pentagon chief's statement comes at his first press briefing from the five-sided building in six months. During the press briefing, he launched a counteroffensive against the effort of outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie, who is reportedly to impeach him over his handling of the unpopular war against Iran and other actions.

“In the 250 years of our American republic, no Secretary of War or Secretary of Defence has ever been impeached for carrying out lawful military operations,” Hegseth told reporters. “This is not patriotism. This is ‌sabotage,” Hegseth said.

Trump gives him 'A PLUS, PLUS, PLUS'

In a post on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote, "Pete Hegseth gets an “A” PLUS, PLUS, PLUS for his defence against a disgruntled, angry, defeated, former Congressman, Thomas Massie, a TOTAL LOSER!
President DJT"

Meanwhile, JD Vance wrote in his post on X, “Has Pete Hegseth committed impeachable crimes? The question is absurd, and the answer is: obviously not. Like so much of Congress, impeachment has become a ridiculous show that stands in for actual policymaking. Congress has so many tools for registering its policy disagreements. Rather than use them, they're going to try to impeach Pete Hegseth. They did the same to Donald Trump. Legislation is hard. Impeachments are easy (and ultimately, inconsequential). The irony is that legislators are most angry at Pete on the issues where he's most correct: repositioning forces away from Europe/Ukraine and reorganising the general officer corps. This isn't about Iran; this is about the fact that Pete took on the bureaucracy at the Pentagon.”

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Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie, who lost his party’s primary to a Trump-endorsed challenger, filed an impeachment resolution against Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in the House on Monday. The move sets up a high-stakes vote on whether to remove one of the Trump administration’s most prominent officials, coming just days after Republicans suffered sweeping defeats in last week’s midterms — losses many have partly attributed to the Iran conflict and its toll on the economy.

While the resolution centres primarily on the war in Iran, it also touches on Hegseth’s involvement in military operations in Yemen against Iran-backed Houthi rebels, as well as actions related to Venezuela. Massie argued that Hegseth’s conduct constitutes “high crimes and misdemeanours,” asserting that his tenure at the Pentagon “warrants impeachment.”

Several media reports suggest that a vote in the House would be held by midweek, inflicting pressure on Republicans, many of whom blamed their election wipeout on the Iran war; however, next steps are highly uncertain.