Symbolic imageHegseth calls impeachment bid 'sabotage' as House vote nears
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rejected Rep. Thomas Massie's impeachment articles as a 'farce'. The House could vote this week.
At the first Pentagon briefing since May, held on Tuesday, 10 November, Hegseth said Massie was driven by ego and wanted to damage the president, and that policy disputes belong with Congress or voters. Hegseth warned that the effort tells Iran and the cartels that the US punishes its own troops, and compared it to the failed attempts to impeach Trump. Trump backed Hegseth on Truth Social and called Massie a 'TOTAL LOSER'. Asked whether Trump's support was secure, Hegseth said the president should speak for himself.
The charges
Massie, a Kentucky Republican, filed eight articles on Monday, 9 November, after a first filing in September. They accuse Hegseth of running Iran operations beyond 90 days without authorization, having alleged drug smugglers killed in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, unlawful operations in Yemen and Venezuela, and retaliating against critics. Hegseth argues that the April ceasefire with Tehran stopped the War Powers clock.
Votes and the Senate
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries backs impeachment, and Sen. Ted Cruz expects the House to approve it. Removal would need two-thirds of the Senate, where Democrats take the majority in January. Massie lost the primary to Trump-endorsed Ed Gallrein and leaves Congress then.