Pete Hegseth impeachment proceedings have triggered a fierce confrontation in Washington, with the US defence secretary dismissing efforts to remove him from office as a political stunt while defending President Donald Trump‘s military campaign against Iran.
Hegseth made the remarks on Tuesday during his first major Pentagon news briefing since May, following the introduction of eight articles of impeachment by Republican congressman Thomas Massie.
The Kentucky lawmaker accused the defence secretary of illegally conducting military operations without congressional authorisation and abusing his powers as head of the Pentagon.
Addressing reporters, Hegseth rejected the allegations, describing Massie’s initiative as an attempt to damage the Trump administration rather than a genuine exercise of congressional oversight.
“What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, and it’s not accountability,” Hegseth said.
“It’s a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment. Time for one man’s final days in Congress to try to do damage to this president, this country, and most irresponsibly, the warriors who defend it.”
Hegseth accuses Massie of sabotaging military operations
The defence secretary argued that the impeachment effort could undermine American military personnel by suggesting that individual lawmakers could interfere with national security decisions.
He accused Massie of attempting to use his remaining time in Congress to challenge decisions made by the country’s elected commander-in-chief.
Hegseth described the move as an act of sabotage, insisting that disagreements over military policy should not translate into efforts to obstruct ongoing operations.
“It tells them that a single rogue legislator, loaded with personal animus for the president, can attempt to veto national security decisions made by the duly elected commander-in-chief. It puts a target on the backs of American warriors by signaling that Congress will undermine their missions in real time,” he said.
He also linked the impeachment effort to previous attempts by Democrats to remove Trump from office during his first presidency.
“We’ve seen this show before. They impeached President Trump over a perfect phone call. They impeached him again in his final week in office. Both times they failed,” Hegseth said.
“Now they’re trying a third time. This time against a member of his cabinet. 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.”
Hegseth noted that it had been approximately 150 years since a defence secretary was last impeached. The previous case involved William Belknap, who served under President Ulysses S Grant and was impeached in 1876 before being acquitted by the Senate.
Thomas Massie accuses Hegseth of illegal conduct over Iran war
Massie’s impeachment initiative centres largely on the Trump administration’s military campaign against Iran, which began with joint American and Israeli strikes in February.
The Republican congressman introduced eight articles of impeachment on Monday, accusing Hegseth of violating the War Powers Resolution, which establishes congressional oversight and consultation requirements concerning US military interventions.
Massie has questioned the legal basis for the military campaign and accused the administration of using American forces to pursue interests that do not serve ordinary Americans.
Speaking to reporters, he alleged that Hegseth had used “our troops to go seize oil for large corporations in America”.
He also criticised the administration’s handling of the bombing of a school in Iran, accusing officials of refusing to acknowledge responsibility for the attack.
“I mean, obviously we hit it, and you can determine what kind of missiles from the range and the kind of destruction there was. I don’t think they’re going to get out of that article of impeachment by saying, ‘oh, we don’t know who bombed that school’ – although I think the president tried that for a day or two,” Massie said.
The allegations place the legality and conduct of the Iran campaign at the centre of the growing confrontation between the defence secretary and the Republican lawmaker.
Massie, an outspoken critic of Trump, is also leaving Congress after losing a primary contest to a candidate backed by the president.
Trump defends Hegseth and attacks impeachment effort
Trump has strongly defended his defence secretary, dismissing Massie as a political opponent and praising the administration’s military record.
At a White House press conference attended by UFC chief executive Dana White, the president said Hegseth had “won two wars”.
Trump also described Massie as a “stone cold loser” and “sick”, making clear that he considers the impeachment effort an attack on his administration.
The dispute comes at a difficult political moment for the Republican Party, which suffered sweeping defeats in last week’s midterm elections.
Trump and Vice-President JD Vance have blamed the unpopular Iran war for contributing to the party’s poor electoral performance.
The president, however, has recently claimed that the conflict is “effectively over” and said on Tuesday that the war would end fairly soon.
He played down the possibility of a further escalation against Tehran, arguing that Israel and America’s Gulf allies were adequately protected.
US military withdraws aircraft from British airbase after Iran threat
Meanwhile, the US military has confirmed that it is taking additional security precautions after flight-tracking information indicated that at least 12 aircraft had been withdrawn from a second British airbase.
American refuelling tankers and other aircraft were removed from RAF Mildenhall in eastern England on Monday following an Iranian threat, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
The precise nature of the threat remained under discussion among American officials.
A spokesperson for US European Command declined to provide details about specific security arrangements but confirmed that protective measures were being taken.
“In close partnership with our host nation allies, both RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath remain vigilant,” the spokesperson said, referring to Mildenhall and another nearby British airbase.
The development adds another dimension to the security concerns surrounding the continuing confrontation with Iran.
Americans demand an end to Iran war, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds
Public opposition to the conflict is also creating pressure on the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers.
A four-day Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday found that 71 per cent of Americans want the newly elected Democratic-majority Congress to pass legislation ending the war with Iran.
The figure included 93 per cent of Democrats and 51 per cent of Republicans.
The findings suggest that opposition to the military campaign extends beyond traditional Democratic supporters, with more than half of Republican respondents also favouring congressional action to end the conflict.
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Democrats secured majorities in both chambers of Congress during last week’s midterm elections, marking a major political setback for Trump.
They are expected to assume control when the new Congress is sworn in on January 3.
The electoral outcome has intensified scrutiny of the administration’s handling of the conflict, particularly its economic consequences and the extent of congressional authority over military operations.
Republicans divided after devastating midterm losses
Republican lawmakers returned to the Capitol facing difficult questions about the scale of their electoral defeat.
West Virginia Senator Jim Justice said the warning signs had been clear before the elections, arguing that members of his party should have recognised the growing dissatisfaction among voters.
“I told you exactly what was going to happen. Over and over and over, I told you,” Justice said.
“I said really and truly, if you weren’t concerned and you were a Republican, you were living in a cave. That was my exact words.”
Ohio congressman Warren Davidson, however, said few had anticipated the magnitude of the Democratic victory.
“No one anticipated the magnitude,” he said.
Utah Senator John Curtis acknowledged that voters were disappointed with the Republican Party’s performance.
“People are mad, and they have a right to be mad. They’re disappointed, and they feel like we haven’t delivered, and we deserve exactly what we got,” Curtis said.
The election results have left Republicans confronting internal divisions over their political strategy and the administration’s most controversial policies.
Congress faces wider battles over Trump’s policies
Beyond the impeachment confrontation, lawmakers are also preparing for disagreements over immigration, infrastructure and environmental protections.
The Senate has advanced bipartisan legislation aimed at speeding up approval processes for major infrastructure projects, including data centres, energy transmission lines and fossil fuel pipelines.
The chamber voted 73-25 to advance debate on the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, although the vote did not amount to final passage.
The legislation has attracted criticism from environmental organisations, including Earthjustice, the Sierra Club and the American Civil Liberties Union, over provisions they say could weaken environmental protections.
Meanwhile, Trump has shifted his public messaging on immigration enforcement after previously suggesting that his deportation policy was too tough.
On Monday, he insisted that the administration’s approach remained strong and rejected suggestions that it would introduce amnesty for undocumented immigrants.
The president has also begun questioning the integrity of last week’s midterm results despite initially saying he would accept the outcome.
His comments prompted Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer to accuse him of returning to election denialism.
With Hegseth facing impeachment pressure, the Iran war attracting widespread public opposition and Republicans struggling to recover from their electoral defeat, the coming weeks could prove politically consequential for the Trump administration.
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