By Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday blasted efforts to impeach him as a farce that would embolden US adversaries, as he lashed out at his political opponents in Congress and the media in an unapologetic defense of his record.
Striking a defiant tone at a Pentagon news briefing, Hegseth thanked President Donald Trump for his continued support as the House of Representatives scheduled a procedural vote for late Tuesday that will test support for his impeachment.
Hegseth said past impeachments of Trump had ultimately failed, and added:
"Both times he came back stronger, and the American people sent him back to the White House. Now they're trying a third time. This time against a member of his cabinet."
US Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, introduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth on Monday. Massie said in a post on X that if the House of Representatives can overcome Tuesday's procedural effort, "we will proceed to a real debate and vote on the Articles of Impeachment."
Congressional sources say the resolution may have the votes to pass even with Trump’s Republicans still controlling the House until Democrats take over on January 3. Conviction appears unlikely in the Senate, however, where a two-thirds majority is required and Republicans hold 53 of 100 seats.
Hegseth is accused of various abuses of power in office, including issuing orders to go to war with Iran without an imminent threat or approval from Congress.
Voter anger over the Iran war helped Democrats win control of Congress in last week's midterm elections. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Tuesday found a majority of Americans want the newly elected Democratic-majority US Congress to act to end the war with Iran.
Vice President JD Vance has publicly questioned the war. Hegseth declined to be drawn into responding to Vance, but defended the conflict, calling Trump courageous and saying Iran's military has been left in ruins.
"History will judge the Iran war quite differently than the conventional wisdom right now," he said.
Hegseth cited US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as saying of the war: "It's not necessarily popular, but it may have been necessary, and that's certainly how I feel. It was a necessary undertaking."
Trump repeated his backing of Hegseth in a post on his Truth Social platform just after the Pentagon briefing ended.
"Pete Hegseth gets an 'A' PLUS, PLUS, PLUS for his defense against a disgruntled, angry, defeated, former Congressman, Thomas Massie, a TOTAL LOSER!" he wrote.
A polarizing figure in American politics, Hegseth would be the first US defense secretary to be impeached. The last time any civilian leader of the US military was impeached was in 1876, when William Belknap held the title "secretary of war."
Hegseth, a former Fox News host, calls himself secretary of war, part of his effort to rebrand a military he said was too weak and "woke" when he took office last year.
But even some Republicans say his strained relations with Congress are becoming a political liability as the administration seeks a $1.5 trillion defense spending package.
In a possible nod to the spending requests, Hegseth said Republicans should use their final weeks in control of Congress to deliver wins for the American people instead of pursuing his impeachment.
If he's still around next year, Democrats have promised to investigate Hegseth and his handling of the Pentagon, including his firing of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other top military officers.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart, David Brunnstrom; additional reporting by Doina Chiacu, Patricia Zengerle and Katharine Jackson; Editing by Doina Chiacu, Chizu Nomiyama and Nick Zieminski)
