Pete Hegseth said he was being "condemned not for defeat, but for military victory". ( Reuters: Evelyn Hockstein )
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has vowed to fight a push to impeach him, describing the effort as a farce and a stunt, and likening it to past impeachments of President Donald Trump.
"What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, and it's not accountability ," Mr Hegseth told a press conference at the Pentagon.
"It's a political spectacle; a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment.
" It's a farce, and it's a stunt, and everybody knows it."
The US House of Representatives is set to vote this week on an impeachment resolution introduced by outgoing Republican congressman Thomas Massie .
Democrats have indicated they will support the resolution.
It is unclear whether enough Republicans will join them for the effort to succeed in the House, where there are 214 Democrats, 218 Republicans and one Republican-aligned independent.
But some US media reports suggest the votes could be shaping up in favour of the resolution.
If this attempt does not succeed, Democrats have signalled they will try again when the new Democrat-majority Congress begins in January.
Thomas Massie has made it clear he wants a new defense secretary. ( Reuters: Evelyn Hockstein )
"We have seen this show before," Mr Hegseth said, pointing to Mr Trump's impeachments in 2019 and 2021.
"Both times he came back stronger and the American people sent him back to the White House," he said.
"Now they're trying a third time, this time against a member of his cabinet. They will fail again."
Mr Trump has said he would continue to back Mr Hegseth even if he was impeached, describing the push as unfair.
After the press conference, he used social media to say:
The impeachment resolution accuses Mr Hegseth of "high crimes and misdemeanours", including in relation to US operations in Iran, Venezuela and Yemen. Mr Hegseth said each of those was a "lawful operation ordered by the commander-in-chief".
"For the first time in American history, a cabinet secretary overseeing America's military is being attacked not for losing conflicts with our enemies, but for winning them," Mr Hegseth said.
"Condemned not for defeat, but for military victory."
It is unclear when the impeachment resolution will go to a vote.
Under House rules, a vote must be held within two sitting days of the resolution's introduction.
But the House's Republican leadership could call a vote to "table" the resolution or refer it to a committee, to delay or avoid a direct vote on impeachment itself.
After introducing the resolution, Mr Massie said it was clear Mr Hegseth had acted unlawfully by defying Congress.
"One thing I want out of this is to litigate whether Congress has war powers or not," he said at a press conference on Monday.
"Someone has to put their foot down and say, 'Are we going to follow the Constitution?' The best way to do that is have an impeachment against Pete Hegseth."
While impeachment only requires a simple majority in the House, Mr Hegseth's removal from the role requires conviction in the Senate.
That would take the support of two-thirds of present senators — a far less likely prospect, particularly in the current Republican-controlled Congress.
