Anti-Trump Republican Thomas Massie pursuing measures against defense secretary as Iran war blamed for party’s sweeping midterm losses
Republican Thomas Massie moves to force vote to impeach Hegseth
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Defense secretary Pete Hegseth is set to hold a rare news conference later today as he pushes back against congressional efforts to remove him from office for alleged misconduct.
Under pressure after President Donald Trump and Vice-president JD Vance blamed the Iran war for the Republican party’s sweeping losses in midterm elections, Hegseth now faces impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives.
“There’s a lot of politically motivated people who... may have substantial policy disagreements but their disagreements are with success,” Hegseth told reporters on Monday when asked about efforts to remove him.
“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,” he said.
The impeachment efforts are being spearheaded by representative Thomas Massie, an anti-Trump Republican lawmaker who is leaving office after losing a primary contest to a candidate backed by the president, AFP reported.
Several of the articles of impeachment – which Massie introduced on Monday – relate to the Iran war, accusing Hegseth of violating the War Powers Resolution, which requires congressional consultation on and oversight of US military interventions.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Massie accused Hegseth of using “our troops to go seize oil for large corporations in America” and derided the Trump administration’s refusal to acknowledge the bombing of a school in Iran.
“I mean, obviously we hit it, and you can determine what kind of missiles from the range and the kind of destruction there was. 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,” Massie said.
It comes as the president said that the war in Iran is “effectively over” as he played down concerns that the US would escalate its military campaign against Tehran after the midterm elections.
During a White House press conference, Trump said that Israel and Gulf allies in the region were well protected from Iran and that an escalation was not needed.
Donald Trump was joined by Dana White, the CEO of UFC, at a press conference. At the conference, Trump defended Hegseth , saying his defense secretary “won two wars”, and called Massie “a stone cold loser” and “sick”.
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