US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has denounced an impeachment effort against him as a “farce” and “political spectacle”, as the House of Representatives prepared to consider the measure.
Hegseth accused Republican congressman Thomas Massie of pursuing a personal campaign against him and Donald Trump, saying the Kentucky lawmaker’s actions did not amount to proper congressional oversight.
“What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, and it’s not accountability,” Hegseth said at the Defence Department in Washington. “It’s a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment.”
The House was expected to take up the resolution later on Tuesday, although lawmakers were likely to hold a procedural vote first on whether to set it aside.
Massie’s updated articles accuse Hegseth of abusing his office by launching military operations against Iran without congressional approval, disregarding laws intended to limit civilian casualties and retaliating against Democratic Senator Mark Kelly.
Hegseth said the impeachment effort could be followed by action against service members involved in strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
“None of these are high crimes or misdemeanors,” he said. “They’re partisan policy disagreements from people who want to politicize our military.”
He compared the attempt to impeach him with the two impeachments faced by Mr Trump during his first term. The former president was acquitted by the Senate on both occasions.
“If standing with President Trump puts me in that company, I’ll take that company every day of the week,” Hegseth said. He also pointed out that the House had not sought to impeach Lloyd Austin, his predecessor during the Biden administration.
Hegseth said he had “a ton of support” on Capitol Hill and argued that Republicans would not want to back what he described as “flimsy” articles of impeachment.
The renewed push came after Republicans suffered sweeping defeats in the midterm elections, which members of both parties blamed on the war in Iran and rising energy prices. Mr Trump said on Monday that he intended to maintain the “status quo” and did not believe further escalation was necessary.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said he was a “hard yes” on the resolution, accusing Hegseth of abusing his power and calling him the “architect of the reckless and costly failed war of choice in Iran”.
It was unclear whether any Republicans apart from Massie would support the measure. Massie said he had no commitment from other members of his party.
Any impeachment vote would require the support of at least three Republicans if all Democrats backed it, depending on absences. Convicting and removing Hegseth in the Senate would require more than a dozen Republicans to join the effort.
House Speaker Mike Johnson warned that impeaching a Cabinet secretary “in the middle of hostilities abroad would be a terrible, terrible look”. Other Republicans have not ruled out supporting the articles.
Republican congressman Don Bacon, who is retiring in January, said he was “wrestling” with the issue. “I don’t think he’s been a good secretary, but do you impeach a guy for that?” he said.
Mr Trump has defended Hegseth and said he would stand by his Pentagon chief if he were impeached, while describing Massie as a “stone-cold loser”.
Massie said he wanted Hegseth to address all eight articles publicly. “Just make the argument from a podium,” he said. “You can use notes. Get the lawyers to help you. Tell us why you are not guilty of each of these eight articles of impeachment.”
