Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday that efforts by outgoing Republican members of Congress to impeach him were nothing more than a “political spectacle.”
“This was a farce, a stunt, and everyone knew it,” Hegseth said at a Pentagon news conference.
Hegseth said the effort sends a dangerous message to America’s enemies around the world. Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie on Monday reintroduced articles of impeachment over the war with Iran and other military actions ordered by President Donald Trump.
Hegseth likened the effort to Congress’s failed efforts to impeach Trump twice during his first term – first through a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the second during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“They failed both times, but he came out stronger both times and the American people returned him to the White House,” Hegseth said. “Now they’re trying a third time, this time against members of his Cabinet. They’re going to fail again, and if standing with President Trump puts me in that company, I’ll choose that company every day of the week.”
Trump took to social media shortly after Hegseth finished speaking, writing that the defense secretary “got an ‘A’ +, +, + in his defense of disgruntled, angry, failed former Congressman Thomas Massey, who is a total loser!”
Hegseth painted a rosy picture for the U.S. in a war with Iran, which Trump has called a “mini-invasion” that would last only four to six weeks. The conflict has continued into its ninth month, with the United States running out of ammunition and the Republican Party suffering huge losses in the midterm elections due to high oil prices and inflation.
According to NBC News, the United States recently withdrew military aircraft from its air base in the United Kingdom due to threats from Iran. A U.S. official confirmed to NBC News that several military aircraft have left RAF Mildenhall Airport as the security posture increases at the base.
Heggs defended his record as defense secretary, citing his achievements in the war with Iran, the hunt for suspected drug ships in Latin America and the military’s covert operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro and his wife face charges in the United States, which he denies.
Republicans and Democrats in Congress have become frustrated with the amount and quality of information Hegers has provided them about the ballooning cost of the Iran conflict, which could reach as much as $100 billion, according to NBC News. The Pentagon is still seeking a budget that has yet to be approved.
Massey, a longtime Trump critic who is retiring from Congress at the end of the year, filed eight charges against Hegseth, accusing him of “waging war with Iran without a declaration of war, without legal authority, without an attack on the United States, or without an imminent threat.”
His action means the House Republican leader will be forced to bring articles of impeachment to the full chamber for a vote within two legislative days as he classifies the measure as privileged under House rules.
The provisions require a simple majority vote in the House of Representatives to be approved. If the effort is successful, the resolution would go to the Senate to decide whether to convict Hegseth and remove him from office. Republicans can also make a motion to repeal the resolution, which would require a majority vote.
“This is not patriotism,” Hegseth said. “This is sabotage.”