PHOTO: REUTERS
Pentagon chief Hegseth calls moves to impeach him a farce and sabotage
· The Straits Times- US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth called impeachment moves over the Iran war “a farce” and “sabotage”, saying they help US adversaries and are not patriotism.
- Republican Thomas Massie introduced eight articles of impeachment, and the House planned an initial vote on Nov 10 to block or advance the case.
- Hegseth defended the Iran strikes as necessary to stop Iran getting a nuclear weapon, while Donald Trump publicly backed him on Truth Social.
WASHINGTON – US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Nov 10 called an effort to impeach him over abuse of power in the Iran war a farce and sabotage that plays into the hands of adversaries.
Hegseth made the comments at a news conference a day after US Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, introduced eight articles of impeachment against him.
In his first Pentagon news conference since May, Hegseth said past impeachments of President Donald Trump had ultimately failed and added: “Both times he came back stronger, and the American people sent him back to the White House. Now they’re trying a third time. This time against a member of his Cabinet.
“They will fail again, and if standing with President Trump puts me in that company, I’ll take that company every day of the week.”
“This is not patriotism. This is sabotage,” he said. “This process hands our adversaries a propaganda victory.”
Referring to the Iran war, he said: “I stand beside every one of these operations. I was proud to execute them, and I would do it again tomorrow.”
In a post on X, Massie said the House would hold a first vote on Nov 10 on a procedural motion to kill the resolution.
“If we can overcome that effort, we will proceed to a real debate and vote on the Articles of Impeachment,” he said.
Hegseth, asked about comments by Vice-President J.D. Vance that the war was a major reason the Republicans lost the Nov 3 midterm elections, said lessons of the conflict would be learnt and applied, while adding: “It was done for the right reasons, to ensure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon.”
He cited US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as saying of the war: “It’s not necessarily popular, but it may have been necessary, and that’s certainly how I feel. It was a necessary undertaking.”
Trump repeated his backing of Hegseth in a post on his Truth Social platform just after the Pentagon briefing ended.
“Pete Hegseth gets an ‘A’ PLUS, PLUS, PLUS for his defence against a disgruntled, angry, defeated, former Congressman, Thomas Massie, a TOTAL LOSER!” he wrote. REUTERS