U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blasts impeachment resolution as “political theater and sabotage” as House vote looms

[Financial News] Ahead of a vote on the federal House of Representatives’ impeachment resolution targeting him, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth strongly pushed back, calling it “a political spectacle, not congressional oversight or accountability.”
Hegseth held a press conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on the 10th (local time), where he unleashed scathing criticism of Rep. Thomas Massie (Republican-Kentucky), who reintroduced the impeachment resolution the previous day. Massie is a prominent anti-Trump figure who lost his party’s primary in this midterm election.
At the press conference, Hegseth described the impeachment effort as “a declaration driven by the arrogance and resentment of a disgruntled, defeated House member.” He added, “In America’s 250-year history, not a single secretary of war or secretary of defense has been impeached for conducting a lawful military operation,” dismissing the eight grounds for impeachment—including launching a war with Iran without congressional approval and the operation to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro—as “policy disagreements,” not serious crimes.
Hegseth was particularly outraged by the attempt to impeach the defense chief while an armed conflict is underway, calling it “putting targets on the backs of U.S. service members—and sabotage, not patriotism.” Shortly after the press conference, President Donald Trump reaffirmed his full support on social media, saying Hegseth’s defense “gets an A+++.”
But Hegseth faces a difficult situation in Congress. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, widely seen as the leading contender to become the next speaker of the House, has pledged a “definite yes” vote, while Republicans continue to point to the Iran war as a cause of their crushing midterm defeat.
The House is expected to vote as early as the evening of the 10th (local time) on a procedural motion to table the impeachment resolution, before holding a final vote on the 11th. Given the current makeup of the House (218 Republicans and 214 Democrats), the resolution could pass if all Democrats vote in favor and just three Republicans defect. However, even if the resolution passes the House, conviction and removal in the Senate require the support of at least two-thirds of the senators present, and most observers consider that unlikely.


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