Embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth lashed out at the Kentucky congressman spearheading an effort to remove him as he delivered a 16-minute diatribe in his own defense at a rare Pentagon news conference on Tuesday.
Speaking in the Pentagon briefing room for the first time in months, Hegseth disparaged Representative Thomas Massie as a “disgruntled and defeated congressman” as he opened remarks that appeared to be at least partially written by an artificial intelligence model.
He also compared himself to other Pentagon bosses who were not impeached despite carrying out military operations absent an explicit declaration of war from Congress.
“Not under Reagan in Lebanon. Not under Clinton in Kosovo. Not under Obama in Iraq and Syria. Not under Biden in Iraq and Syria. That's the standard. The history is clear, and it's very straightforward, and one disgruntled congressman wants to shred it over policy disagreements,” he said.
He also cast Massie’s effort as an attack on service members, telling reporters “If they want to come for the warriors, they're going to have to come through me.”
The impeachment resolution at issue alleges that the self-styled “Secretary of War” illegally started a war with Iran without the consent of Congress among other “high crimes and misdemeanors,” including defying Congress and causing civilian casualties without military necessity.
It also accuses Hegseth of having violated the U.S. Constitution by carrying out what it describes as “illegal” military operations in Venezuela and Yemen and of ignoring American law by closing Pentagon offices tasked with reducing civilian casualties and states that he “has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to civilians, the lawful conduct of United States military operations, the integrity and credibility of the United States Armed Forces, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with his duties and the rule of law”.
Hegseth responded by slamming the entire effort as ““a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment.”
“It’s a farce, and it’s a stunt, and everybody knows it,” he said. He added that the impeachment was really meant to target Trump and claimed it would embolden America’s adversaries.
“Let’s be clear about what this resolution actually does,” he said. “It tells our enemies, Iran, the cartels, every adversary watching, that the United States will actually punish its own warriors and its own civilian leadership,” he said.
After wrapping his remarks he took several softball questions from a small group of handpicked partisan media organizations who were strategically seated near the front of the briefing room while ignoring legitimate journalists from the regular Pentagon press corps.
The shouty spectacle appeared tailored to please President Donald Trump, who has faced questions over whether to retain Hegseth or sack him and replace him with someone else while Republicans control Congress in the wake of Democrats’ massive midterm election win that will give them control of both the House and Senate starting January 3.
Trump quickly weighed in with praise, writing on Truth Social that Hegseth had received “ an “A” PLUS, PLUS, PLUS for his defense against a disgruntled, angry, defeated, former Congressman.”
It’s unlikely that Hegseth will be able to avoid becoming just the third cabinet member to be impeached by the House given his status as the face of the unpopular Iran war which voters have said factored heavily into their choice to hand power overwhelmingly to Democrats in last week’s midterm elections.
He has also been a divisive figure at the Pentagon, not only over his conduct of the Iran war, but also his sacking of top military officers, abrasive style and a willingness to disparage traditional allies, and his dismissive attitude towards Congress has rankled Democrats and Republicans alike.
A vote to approve the articles of impeachment against him could come as early as today.
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