Hegseth calls bipartisan impeachment push a 'farce' and vows to keep defending his record
Trump praised the defense secretary on social media, calling Rep. Thomas Massie, the resolution's sponsor, a 'total loser.'
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is pushing back hard against an impeachment resolution introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who is leaving Congress. Massie read the resolution from the House floor shortly after the chamber returned for its first session since the midterm elections. At a Pentagon news conference, Hegseth called the effort "a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment" and said it amounted to sabotage against U.S. troops. He said he stood behind military operations in Iran, Venezuela and Yemen and described them as lawful. He took six questions before ending the briefing and avoided questions about political backlash to the war in the midterms. President Donald Trump praised Hegseth in a Truth Social post, giving him an "A PLUS, PLUS, PLUS" and calling Massie a "TOTAL LOSER." Hegseth thanked the president and said the impeachment would not stop him. The resolution contains eight articles of impeachment.
Hegseth argued that past defense leaders were never impeached for carrying out lawful military operations, pointing to actions under several earlier presidents. He framed the dispute as one over policy, saying the proper remedy is legislation, debate or the next presidential election.
Separately, the Senate voted 73-25 to take up bipartisan legislation to speed up permitting reviews for power data centers and other infrastructure projects.
Key points
- Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., introduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth.
- Hegseth called the effort a farce and said it was sabotage against U.S. troops.
- Trump publicly backed Hegseth and called Massie a 'total loser.'
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Summarized with AI from the sources above and reviewed before publishing.
