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Pentagon Chief Hegseth calls US House impeachment effort a ‘farce’
Confirmed
In Short: Hegseth, speaking at a Pentagon press conference, said the effort to impeach him was initiated by Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who lost his reelection bid earlier this year.
Hegseth calls impeachment effort a ‘farce’ ahead of possible House vote. Scripps News
Hegseth argued that the impeachment effort was based on policy disagreements rather than high crimes or misdemeanors, comparing it to previous attempts to impeach former President Donald Trump.
Hegseth defended his record, citing the Iran war, operations against drug boats in Latin America, and efforts to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
He also accused Massie of disregarding a formal congressional resolution directing the US to withdraw from hostilities, and warned that the impeachment effort could lead to actions against service members involved in the drug boat strikes.
Hegseth said the effort to impeach him was a political spectacle and that he would not resign, stating, “You can rest assured of that.”
Massie announced his effort to impeach Hegseth in September, saying a Democratic-controlled Congress would pursue impeachment if Democrats won control in November.
Hegseth claimed that the impeachment effort was only the first step and would next lead to actions against service members who participated in strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea.
Despite Democrats holding a majority in the Senate, they are expected to have about 54 seats, short of the 67 votes needed to convict and remove Hegseth.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz suggested that Hegseth would either step down voluntarily or be fired by Trump if the impeachment effort succeeded.
Hegseth said the effort to impeach him was a political spectacle and that he would not resign, stating, “You can rest assured of that.”
Hegseth's comments reflect a broader Republican defense of his actions and a dismissal of the impeachment effort as politically motivated.
What's confirmed
- “It’s a farce and it’s a stunt and everybody knows it,” Hegseth said during a press conference at the Pentagon.
What's still developing
- Hegseth compared military losses under his tenure with other historic conflicts, saying some 60,000 Americans were killed in the Vietnam War, and 37,000 in the Korean War, while only 18 had been lost during the US-Israel war against Iran.
- The strikes on purported drug boats, Hegseth said, had been necessary to protect the US against narcotraffickers, and each strike had saved “thousands of American lives”.
- US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday called moves to impeach him over abuse of power in the Iran war a farce that would fail.
- “In the 250 years of our American republic, no Secretary of War or Secretary of Defence has ever been impeached for carrying out lawful military operations,” Hegseth told reporters.
- Issued on: 10/11/2026 - 14:32 Modified: 10/11/2026 - 14:49 Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth dug in for a fight Tuesday against his potential impeachment in Congress, telling reporters that a rogue lawmaker is targeting him over “policy disagreements” and not the high crimes or offenses the nation’s founders intended.
- Watch more Pentagon’s Hegseth says 20 percent of US generals, admirals cut, ‘no fatties, no trannies’ Iran, however, has been able to keep striking US military bases in the Middle East and has disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz during the course of the more than 8-month-old conflict, driving up global oil prices.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called an impeachment effort led by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie a “farce” and described Massie as “disgruntled” after Massie lost his reelection bid in a Republican primary earlier this year.
- "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," Hegseth said.