Hegseth defends record amid impeachment effort

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended his military record Tuesday amid a potential impeachment in Congress, arguing the effort was over mere “policy disagreements” and high crimes and misdemeanors.

Hegseth held his first Pentagon news conference in six months, a day after Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky reintroduced eight articles of impeachment. Hegseth called the effort “a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment.”

Massie’s resolution cites U.S. military action in Yemen and Venezuela, but the case centers on the war with Iran, which Massie says the Trump administration waged without congressional approval.

“There’s no argument in these impeachment articles that he’s ineffective,” Massie said. “The argument here is that he’s broken laws and he’s violated the Constitution.”

Hegseth said the military operations at issue were lawful.

“I stand behind every one of these operations,” he said. “I was proud to execute them, and I would do it again tomorrow.”

President Donald Trump said Monday he stands by Hegseth. On Tuesday, he further backed Hegseth on social media, giving the secretary’s press conference an “A plus, plus, plus.”

Several House Democrats have said they’ll support impeachment, including Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland. Massie says he’s confident other House Republicans will join him, but it remains unclear how many will vote with him.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said he expects the effort to fail if it reaches the Republican-controlled Senate.

“Look, this is a reaction by a member who was defeated in the primary,” Issa said. “It’s popular with Democrats. It’s going to die in the Senate.”

The House could first vote on whether to set the resolution aside or send it to committee. If neither happens, lawmakers could vote on whether to impeach Hegseth later this week.