‘It’s a farce’: Hegseth dismisses Republican push to impeach him

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth called the move to impeach him “a farce” and “a stunt” on 10 November, at his first news conference at the Pentagon in almost six months, Al Jazeera reported.

“This is not patriotism, this is sabotage,” Mr. Hegseth said. He called the criticism of him and of the war with Iran “policy disagreements”. “I stand behind every one of these operations. I was proud to execute them, and I would do it again tomorrow,” he said.

France 24 reported that he called the effort a “political spectacle” by an outgoing opponent of President Donald Trump in Congress.

The background

Republican congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky filed eight articles of impeachment against Mr. Hegseth on 9 November. The main charge is that he helped wage war on Iran without the approval of Congress. The articles also cite strikes on boats said to carry drugs. Mr. Massie lost his party’s primary earlier this year to a challenger backed by Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump has defended his Defence Secretary. In a post on his Truth Social site, he said Mr. Hegseth gets an “A” and called Mr. Massie “a disgruntled, angry, defeated, former Congressman”.

The push comes days after the Republicans lost ground in the midterm elections, losses that some in the party blame partly on the Iran war.

What’s next

The House of Representatives was expected to hold a first, procedural vote on whether to debate the articles, Al Jazeera reported. Impeachment needs a simple majority in the House, and removal from office needs a two-thirds vote in the Senate.