Pete Hegseth defends himself against impeachment: 'It's a farce'
Pete Hegseth defends himself against impeachment: 'It's a farce'
Miles J. Herszenhorn, USA TODAYTue, November 10, 2026 at 1:18 PM UTC
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WASHINGTON – Facing a looming impeachment vote in Congress, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth dug his heels in at a news conference on Nov. 10, the latest show of defiance in the face of persistent questions about his political future.
“What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight and it's not accountability. It's a political spectacle,” Hegseth said. “It’s a farce and it’s a stunt, and everybody knows it.”
Hegseth has sought to aggressively advocate for his record in the aftermath of the Republican Party’s midterm shellacking, which prompted some GOP lawmakers to call for his ouster. The House of Representatives is planning to vote on whether to move forward with impeaching Hegseth later on Nov. 10.
The rare news conference, Hegseth’s first in more than six months, comes days after he vowed to fight the impeachment effort and vigorously defended the decision to go to war against Iran in a video address filmed outside the Pentagon. The White House’s official social media account also published a hype video to tout Hegseth’s perceived accomplishments.
The White House conceded that the devastating election night losses were caused in part by the Iran war and the ensuing spike in fuel prices, but President Donald Trump has repeatedly backed Hegseth in recent days and slammed the impeachment push led by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky.
More: Republican moves to force Pete Hegseth impeachment vote this week
“Pete Hegseth should be praised, not impeached,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Nov. 9. “Congress, stand up for Pete!!!”
Hegseth likens impeachment push to those against Trump
Hegseth used the news conference to laud Trump’s leadership. Hegseth also likened Massie’s impeachment effort to the two times the House voted to impeach Trump during his first term in office.
“Both times he came back stronger, and the American people sent him back to the White House,” Hegseth said. “Now they’re trying a third time, this time against a member of his Cabinet. They will fail again.”
“If standing with President Trump puts me in that company, I’ll take that company every day of the week,” he added.
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Trump gave Hegseth high marks for his attack on the impeachment effort.
“Pete Hegseth gets an ‘A’ PLUS, PLUS, PLUS for his defense against a disgruntled, angry, defeated, former Congressman, Thomas Massie, a TOTAL LOSER!” Trump said on social media.
The news conference, which lasted roughly 25 minutes, ended after Hegseth took a handful of questions, mostly from reporters representing conservative media outlets.
Before the start of the briefing, a member of Hegseth’s security staff threatened reporters with physical removal if they did not act professionally or maintain decorum.
Massie: 'He's violated the Constitution'
Massie, an anti-war Republican and one of Trump’s top political opponents, is seeking to oust Hegseth for waging war in Iran without congressional approval, conducting lethal strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, and leading the operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
Hegseth accused Massie of trying to impeach him “for success.”
“None of these are high crimes or misdemeanors,” he said. “They’re partisan policy disagreements from people who want to politicize our military.”
The Kentucky lawmaker will exit Congress in January after he lost the Republic primary to Rep.-elect Ed Gallrein, a Trump-backed candidate. Hegseth campaigned for Gallrein ahead of the primary election, but Massie has insisted that the impeachment effort is not motivated by revenge.
“We’re not indicting him for being bad at his job,” Massie said at a press conference on Nov. 9. “The argument here is that he’s broken laws and he's violated the Constitution.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pete Hegseth defends himself against impeachment: 'It's a farce'
Source: “AOL Breaking”
