‘This is sabotage’: Hegseth fires back over impeachment as Trump, Vance circle wagons

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Hours ahead of a vote in Congress, the defence secretary framed the attempt to impeach him as an attack on American troops, and drew comparisons between himself and Donald Trump.

Washington: US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed the impeachment proceedings against him as a politically motivated stunt by a disgruntled politician, as he drew comparisons between himself and Donald Trump ahead of a vote in the House of Representatives.

Hegseth insisted all his actions in office had been legal, including the war in Iran and extrajudicial killing of suspected drug traffickers in international waters, while framing the impeachment resolution as an attack on American troops the day before Veterans Day.

“What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, and it’s not accountability. It’s a political spectacle,” he said. “A personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment. It’s a farce, and it’s a stunt, and everybody knows it.”

Hegseth made the remarks at a morning press conference in Washington ahead of a likely vote on Capitol Hill on Tuesday evening (US time). The impeachment resolution is being brought by outgoing Republican congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky, an opponent of the president who lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger.

The eight articles of impeachment, filed on Monday, accuse Hegseth of unlawfully keeping US troops engaged in the Iran war in contravention of a congressional resolution, ignoring laws that aim to reduce civilian casualties, abducting Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, overseeing the extrajudicial killing of suspected drug traffickers, suppressing free speech and initiating an illegal war in Yemen.

“The law requires our military to withdraw from hostilities within 60 days if Congress does not authorise the activity,” Massie said on X during Hegseth’s news conference. “Operation Epic Fury has been under way for 256 days. Congress has not authorised it. Hegseth is breaking the law. Not even debatable.”

Before last week’s midterm elections, there was speculation that Hegseth – a former Fox News anchor with no government experience before being appointed defence secretary – would be ousted…

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