Thomas Massie, a fellow Republican and member of the House of Representatives, has filed a resolution to impeach Pete Hegseth for his role in US wars and military operations in Iran, Yemen and Venezuela.
Hegseth called Massie a “disgruntled congressman” and said his impeachment proposal was misguided. He described it as a “political spectacle” based on political disagreement rather than irregularities.
“A manifesto driven by ego and resentment,” the Secretary of War said at a press conference - his first at the Pentagon since May - and added:
“The right remedy for political disagreement is legislation, it is debate, it is the next presidential election.”
Defends the Iran war
Among other things, Hegseth is accused of being responsible for a war “without a declaration of war” against Iran and an “illegal war” in Yemen. The US’s many deadly attacks on boats allegedly smuggling drugs and the kidnapping of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro are also among the charges.
“No one has been impeached for carrying out successful military operations,” Hegseth said.
He defended the Iran war as a “historic effort” made possible by the country’s “courageous commander-in-chief”, President Donald Trump.
Vote this week
According to Pete Hegseth, none of the alleged actions is grounds for impeachment.
“It is not a felony, not a misdemeanor, not treason, not bribery, not the kind of crime that the country’s founders intended when they wrote the impeachment clause.”
A vote on impeachment could take place as early as this week in the House of Representatives, the AP reported.
Massie is one of the Trump administration’s most vocal critics among Republicans. But he will leave Congress in January after losing the party’s primary election earlier this year to a candidate supported by Trump.
What do you think?