Pete Hegseth News: Impeachment Vote Looms as Trump Stands By
The latest pete hegseth news from Washington is a confrontation no defense secretary has faced in a century and a half. Pete Hegseth, the secretary of war, stood at the Pentagon podium on Tuesday and called the effort to impeach him a farce and a stunt. His defiant appearance came one day after Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, introduced eight articles of impeachment against him, accusing him of waging war on Iran without the approval of Congress and of abusing the powers of his office. The House was expected to take its first vote on Tuesday evening, on a procedural motion that could kill the resolution before any debate on the charges.
The standoff puts the Trump administration's most loyal cabinet member at the centre of a constitutional fight. Republicans still control the House, but only for a few more weeks: Democrats won both chambers in last week's midterm elections and take power when the new Congress is sworn in on January 3. Trump has thrown his full weight behind Hegseth, insisting his defense secretary won two wars and should be praised rather than impeached. Massie, who leaves Congress in January after losing his primary to a Trump-backed candidate, says the question is not whether Hegseth did his job well, but whether he broke the law.
The Eight Articles: What Massie Accuses Hegseth Of
Massie formally introduced the articles on Monday and read them aloud on the House floor. The eight articles accuse Hegseth of committing high crimes and misdemeanours over the war in Iran and a series of alleged abuses of power. The most serious charge: Hegseth authorised the military campaign against Iran without approval from Congress, in violation of constitutional limits on the president's war powers and of the War Powers Resolution of 1973. The articles also accuse him of ignoring a congressional resolution directing the United States to withdraw its forces, and of ignoring laws designed to minimise civilian casualties. They accuse him of overseeing extrajudicial killings in the campaign against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific, and they cover American military strikes in Yemen. One article accuses him of violating the free speech rights of Senator Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat, whom Hegseth sought to prosecute after Kelly urged troops to refuse illegal orders.
Massie has been blunt about what the case is and is not. "We're not indicting him for being bad at his job," he said on Monday. "The argument here is that he's broken laws and he's violated the Constitution." Massie said impeaching Trump over war powers was "an impossible hurdle" and Hegseth was "the better target." He first announced the effort in September. The articles he filed on Monday open a fight now almost certain to continue into the new year.
Hegseth Fights Back: 'This Is Not Patriotism. This Is Sabotage'
Hegseth has made it clear that he has no intention of stepping down and every intention of fighting. In a video message last week, he compared the move against him to the two failed impeachment attempts against Trump. "It didn't work against President Trump, and it won't work with me," he said. On Monday he told reporters to come to the Pentagon the next morning. The press conference on Tuesday was his first from the briefing room since May, and he used it to go on the attack.
He called the impeachment effort a farce and a stunt, and he called Massie a disgruntled and defeated congressman and a rogue legislator. "What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, and it's not accountability. It's a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment," he said. "It's a farce, and it's a stunt, and everybody knows it." He added: "This is not patriotism. This is sabotage." He warned that one legislator could veto national security decisions made by the commander in chief, and that his impeachment would put a target on the backs of American warriors. He dismissed Massie's concerns as policy disagreements, not crimes. "I stand beside every one of these operations. I was proud to execute them, and I would do it again tomorrow," he said. "They will fail again," he added. His spokesman said Hegseth would remain in office until the end of Trump's term.
Trump Stands By Hegseth: 'He Won Two Wars'
The president's defence of Hegseth has been emphatic, personal, and repeated across every platform he has. Speaking to Reuters on Monday, Trump questioned why Hegseth should face impeachment when the American military had won two wars under his leadership. "Well, he won two wars. I don't know how you can impeach him," he said. At the White House on Monday, he said he would stand by Hegseth even if the House voted to impeach him. He called the Venezuela operation, which deposed President Nicolas Maduro in a January raid on his Caracas compound, a flawless 48-minute mission with nobody killed.
Later on Monday night, Trump took to Truth Social to attack Massie and praise Hegseth. "Defeated Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, a total loser, is trying to impeach perhaps the most popular and successful military official in the Country, Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth," Trump wrote. He also claimed military recruitment had reached an all-time high after a record low under former President Joe Biden. "With recruitment at an ALL-TIME HIGH, from an all-time low under Sleepy Joe Biden, and TWO VICTORIES, Venezuela and Iran, Pete Hegseth should be praised, not impeached. Congress, stand up for Pete!!!" he added. Trump also asked why the defence officials responsible for earlier wars had never faced similar action. "Well, what about impeaching the people from Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq and all of that, where we fought forever, and nothing happened?" he asked Reuters. The argument is one the president has returned to again and again: that Hegseth delivered results where his predecessors delivered stalemates. It is also a defence of the president himself: abandoning Hegseth would mean admitting the Iran war was a mistake.
The Politics Behind the Impeachment Push
The impeachment effort comes at a difficult moment for Republicans. Hegseth took the unusual step of campaigning against Massie's re-election bid earlier this year while leading the military. Massie says he has no commitment from any other Republicans to support the articles, but congressional sources told Reuters that the resolution could have enough support to pass the House even though Republicans still control the chamber, with some Republicans signalling they might join Democrats. Speaker Mike Johnson opposed the move, warning that impeachment during military operations abroad would be a terrible thing for allies and enemies to see. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, visiting Paris, called the effort unfair. "I think Pete's done a good job. I really do," he said. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Sunday he was a hard yes on impeaching Hegseth.
Because Massie filed the resolution as a privileged measure, the House must act on it within two legislative days. The first test comes Tuesday evening, when the House votes on the procedural motion. Massie warned leaders could use the motion to dodge a direct vote, and demanded a real debate. The fight is also about what comes after the vote. Massie warned that the current impeachment effort could be the least of Hegseth's problems once Democrats take control of the House in January, when they have promised investigations and hearings against the defence secretary. "They will hold hearings and trials. President Trump should replace Secretary Hegseth now while he can still get a replacement confirmed in the Senate," Massie said on Monday. Democrats have promised investigations, including into his firing of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other senior officers. Some Republicans worry Hegseth's strained ties with Congress could imperil a 1.5 trillion dollar defence spending package. Vice President JD Vance has publicly questioned the war, while Hegseth calls the campaign courageous and historic.
The Iran War at the Centre of the Case
None of this can be understood without the war that sits at the centre of the articles. Trump began the war against Iran in February, alongside Israel, promising it would end in weeks. Instead it has run more than eight months, and it has become deeply unpopular at home. Voter anger over the conflict and the fuel prices it pushed up helped drive the Republicans' historic midterm defeat, in which Democrats won their largest majorities since at least 2008. On Monday, the same day Massie filed the articles, Trump said the war was effectively over militarily and new strikes were unnecessary, though American forces remained ready to act. A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday put his approval rating at 32 percent, near a career low, with only 21 percent approving of his handling of the cost of living. The poll also found 71 percent want the new Congress to end the war by law. The impeachment of the man who ran that war is the first battle of the new Congress over a conflict the public has already judged.
What Happens Next
The calendar now sets the pace. The first vote, on the procedural motion, is expected Tuesday evening; a vote on the articles could follow as early as Wednesday. Even if the House impeaches Hegseth, removal looks unlikely: the Senate would need 67 votes to convict, while Republicans hold 53 of 100 seats. But the vote itself would be historic. Only two cabinet members have ever been impeached: William Belknap, the secretary of war, in 1876, who resigned before the vote but was impeached anyway and later acquitted, and Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, in 2024. Hegseth would be the third, and only the second defence chief after Belknap. If the effort fails this week, it will almost certainly return when Democrats take the House in January, with investigations, hearings, and quite possibly a fresh impeachment attempt. Hegseth will not back down, Trump will stand by him, and the House must now decide whether the man who ran two wars broke the law.
Source: Reuters