U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth gestures during a press conference at the Pentagon November 10, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia. WE
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday criticized the Republican congressman who introduced articles of impeachment against him and aggressively defended his leadership in the Iran war and other military operations.
“What a disgruntled and defeated member of Congress is attempting is not oversight, not accountability. It is a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment,” Hegseth said a day after Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., introduced eight articles of impeachment against him.
“It’s a prank, it’s a set-up, and everyone knows it,” Hegseth said at his first Pentagon news conference in six months.
The articles accuse Hegseth of waging a war in violation of congressional directives, committing extrajudicial killings linked to boat strikes in the Caribbean against alleged drug traffickers and suppressing free speech by targeting Sen. Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona, a veteran.
Massie, a libertarian who lost his Republican primary after a clash with President Donald Trump, launched the impeachment battle less than a week after a midterm blue wave that will hand control of the House and Senate to Democrats.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who is set to become speaker of the House in the next Congress, said Sunday that Democrats were a “resounding yes” to impeaching Hegseth.
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