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U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he is "not worried" about impeachment as Republican Rep. Thomas Massie introduced articles to remove him from office under procedures that could force a House vote as early as this week.
"We’re not worried about impeachment. We’re going to do a press conference tomorrow morning on that topic," Hegseth told reporters in Rhode Island when asked whether he had enough Republican support to defeat the articles.
"Defeated Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, a total loser, is trying to Impeach perhaps the most popular and successful military official in the Country, Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth. With recruitment at an ALL-TIME HIGH, from an all-time low under Sleepy Joe Biden, and TWO VICTORIES, Venezuela and Iran, Pete Hegseth should be praised, not Impeached. Congress, stand up for Pete!!!" Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday.
"There’s a lot of politically motivated people who may have substantial policy disagreements, but their disagreements are with success," he said.
"I couldn’t be more proud of what our president has done, the decisions that he’s made, the courageous calls that he’s made, the bold nature of our, military leadership, the skill and courage of the troops on the ground," Hegseth added.
Massie, an anti-war Republican from Kentucky who lost his primary after Trump backed his opponent, introduced the resolution under privileged procedures, requiring House Republican leaders to schedule a vote within two legislative days.
Republicans could table it or refer it to the Judiciary Committee with a simple majority.
The resolution accuses Hegseth of eight sets of impeachable offenses and calls for his removal and a ban on holding future federal office:
"We’re not indicting him for being bad at his job, the argument here is that he’s broken laws and he’s violated the Constitution," Massie told reporters.
"It is true that the president is culpable by asking Hegseth to carry out these orders, but Hegseth should not carry out illegal orders, and that’s why we’re impeaching him," he said.
Asked whether Hegseth is a war criminal over the school strike, Massie said: "I did not go that far. But I will say that he has violated the norms of war, and it’s to the disadvantage and the dishonor of our country and to the danger of our soldiers and future."
"I don’t think they’re going to get out of that article of impeachment by saying, ‘Oh, we don’t know who bombed that school’, although I think the president tried that for a day or two,” he said.
He also accused Hegseth of using "our troops to go seize oil for large corporations."
"We could have the vote tonight, we could have it tomorrow, we could have it Wednesday," Massie said, suggesting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a replacement. "I will name a name, because I suspect he doesn’t want the job. I think Ron DeSantis would be great at it."
"What has Hegseth done? He won the war. He was in charge. He won the war in Venezuela. And he, certainly, I think he’s won the war in Iran," Trump told reporters, calling Massie a "stone cold loser."
Asked what would happen if Hegseth is impeached, Trump said: "Yeah, I’ll stand by him."
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he is a "hard yes."
"The national nightmare that has been Pete Hegseth can end this week if the president doesn’t make the decision on his own to terminate him," he said.
Hegseth has called the effort "sham articles of impeachment."
"It’s all about the politics of personal destruction. Didn’t work against President Trump, and it won’t work with me," he said in a video last week.
The narrow House Republican majority can afford few defections if all Democrats back the measure, the Post reported. If passed, the articles would go to the Republican-controlled Senate, where removal faces long odds, though Speaker Mike Johnson could delay sending them until the new Democratic-led Congress takes office in January.
The administration has distributed talking points arguing Hegseth’s role in the Iran war is not impeachable.
Rep. James Comer, a Trump ally, declined to back Hegseth last week, saying Republicans have "no idea what the strategy is moving forward in Iran."
Within the White House, questions remain over how strongly new Chief of Staff Stephen Miller will defend Hegseth, The Washington Post reported, citing people familiar with internal deliberations.
A person close to Trump said it is not out of the question that Hegseth could be "cut loose" rather than defended through the process.
Trump had discussed before the election whether Hegseth should be the first to go, but frustration with outgoing Chief of Staff Susie Wiles appeared to buy him time, the newspaper said.
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