Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth came out swinging during a Pentagon press conference Tuesday, rejecting calls for his impeachment, attacking the Republican lawmaker behind the effort and defending the Trump administration’s military campaign against Iran.
The appearance marked Hegseth’s first Pentagon news conference in approximately six months. It came less than 24 hours after Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, introduced eight articles of impeachment accusing the defense secretary of serious misconduct involving military operations in Iran, Yemen and Venezuela.
Hegseth dismissed the impeachment effort as politically motivated and questioned Massie’s intentions.
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“What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, and it’s not accountability,” Hegseth told reporters. “It’s a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment.”
He also compared the effort to previous attempts to impeach Trump, predicting that the latest effort would meet the same fate.
“They will fail again,” Hegseth said.
At another point, he delivered one of his sharpest responses to the impeachment effort, declaring, “This is not patriotism. This is sabotage.”
Hegseth argued that impeachment is not the appropriate response to disagreements over military policy. Instead, he said lawmakers should use the legislative process and elections to challenge decisions made by the administration.
“The proper remedy for a policy disagreement: It’s legislation. It’s debate. It’s the next presidential election,” he said.
He also accused lawmakers of trying to turn Congress into a political spectacle rather than address policy disagreements through the normal legislative process.
Hegseth’s defense of the Iran war was another central part of the briefing. Despite mounting political opposition and questions about the conflict’s costs, he stood firmly behind the military operations.
“I stand behind every one of these operations. I was proud to execute them, and I would do it again tomorrow,” he said.
He described the military campaign as doing “the tough, right thing,” pushing back against criticism of the administration’s decisions.
The remarks come as the Iran conflict has become a major political liability for Republicans. Last week’s midterm elections delivered significant losses for the party, with voter frustration over the war and rising living costs emerging as major issues.
Massie’s impeachment resolution raises several allegations against Hegseth, including violations of the War Powers Resolution, which governs the president’s authority to involve U.S. forces in military hostilities without congressional authorization.
The resolution also addresses the U.S. military strike on an Iranian elementary school that reportedly killed and injured more than 200 civilians, alleged unlawful killings connected to military strikes against suspected drug-trafficking vessels, military operations in Yemen and other alleged abuses of authority.
Hegseth has characterized the operations under his leadership as lawful and successful. The allegations in Massie’s resolution have not been established through an impeachment trial.
Trump has publicly defended his defense secretary. In a social media post Monday, he described Hegseth as perhaps the most popular and successful military official in the country and urged Congress to stand behind him.
“Pete Hegseth should be praised, not Impeached,” Trump wrote.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has also expressed reservations about impeaching a Cabinet secretary while the United States remains involved in military hostilities abroad.
The House is facing a potential vote on the impeachment resolution. Even if lawmakers approve articles of impeachment, Hegseth would not automatically lose his position. The Senate would have to hold a trial and secure a two-thirds vote to convict and remove him.
For Hegseth, Tuesday’s appearance was an opportunity to defend his record publicly while making clear that he has no intention of backing away from the administration’s military decisions or the political fight surrounding his position.
