Politics & Diplomacy
Hegseth hits back at the impeachment push: “This is not patriotism, it is sabotage” – what he said about Massie and Iran
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, at the Pentagon for his first press conference since May, called Rep. Thomas Massie’s impeachment articles a “hoax” and a “stunt”, as the House must act within two legislative days.
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stood before reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday, November 10, for the first time since May, and attacked head-on the Republican congressman Thomas Massie, who is seeking his impeachment. “This is not patriotism. It is sabotage,” he said, calling the initiative a “hoax” and a “stunt”.
Massie, a congressman from Kentucky, filed the articles of impeachment on the floor of the House of Representatives on Monday. The resolution concerns the war with Iran, the strikes on vessels allegedly carrying drugs and other alleged violations of U.S. law. Because impeachment has privileged status in procedure, the House must consider it within two legislative days, which forces Republicans to take a public position. The vote could even take place later on Tuesday.
At the press conference Hegseth said that what “a disgruntled and defeated congressman” is attempting is neither oversight nor accountability but “political theatre, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment”. He also argued that the resolution sends a message to America’s enemies that Congress is ready to “punish its own warriors and its own political leadership” for carrying out lawful military operations, as ABC News reported.
According to the secretary, if Massie’s move succeeds it will mean that “a single, unchecked congressman” with a personal hostility toward the president can try to overturn national security decisions of the elected commander in chief. Criticism of the war, he said, is a policy disagreement, and anyone who disagrees should bring legislation, not impeachment.
On Iran, Hegseth predicted that “history will judge the war very differently from the prevailing view” and added about Donald Trump: “He did not kick the can down the road. He broke their teeth.”
A changed political landscape
The political scene has shifted since last week’s midterm elections, in which the Republicans suffered heavy losses. Several party figures attribute them to the war with Iran and its economic consequences, something Trump himself had acknowledged. Hegseth, who earlier this year had campaigned against Massie’s re-election, would be only the third cabinet member in U.S. history to be impeached by the House.
Trump nonetheless stands by him. On Monday, shortly after the articles were filed, he said he would stand with him even if he were impeached and that his secretary is “winning the war” in Iran. “Iran would very much like to make a deal. And they have been crushed, their navy and their air force,” he said.
Whatever the result of the vote, the issue will not close easily. Democrats are expected to bring the process back when the new Congress is sworn in on January 3, if Hegseth is still in his post. The pressure on him had begun to escalate as early as the start of the month.
