President Donald Trump continues to support Pete Hegseth, recently giving him an A-plus for his job performance and "defense against" Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, who filed eight articles of impeachment against the Pentagon chief.
“Pete Hegseth gets an ‘A’ PLUS, PLUS, PLUS for his defense against a disgruntled, angry, defeated, former Congressman, Thomas Massie, a TOTAL LOSER,” Trump said in a Nov. 10 Truth Social post
.Trump’s post came shortly after Hegseth held a news conference Nov. 10, where he pushed back against Massie’s efforts.
“What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, and it's not accountability. It's a political spectacle,” Hegseth said. “It’s a farce, and it’s a stunt, and everybody knows it.”
In a subsequent Truth Social post, Trump praised Hegseth’s morning press conference, saying it was a “great job by Pete Hegseth — A MUST SEE.”
Hegseth, the face of an unpopular war
Massie’s move to impeach Hegseth comes on the heels of the Republican Party’s midterm shellacking, which prompted some GOP lawmakers to call for his ouster. Hegseth has made himself the face of the ongoing conflict in Iran, vigorously defending the decision to go to war in the Middle East, including in a video address filmed outside the Pentagon.
But both Trump and Vice President JD Vance have said the ongoing US-Israel war with Iran was behind the GOP’s losses in the midterms.
“The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,” Vance said Nov. 4 in a lengthy X post. “If you'd like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so.”
In a separate interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump echoed Vance’s sentiment, but doubled down, saying the war was the “right thing” and that he would have done it again.
When did Massie file articles of impeachment against Hegseth?
Massie originally filed articles of impeachment against Hegseth on Sept. 15. He later refiled and reintroduced them on Nov. 9, after House Speaker Mike Johnson previously adjourned the chamber before a vote could take place.
Known as an anti-war Republican and one of Trump’s top political opponents, Massie said he wants to oust Hegseth for waging war on Iran without congressional approval, launching lethal military strikes against alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean Sea and allegedly ignoring laws mandated by Congress to minimize civilian casualties during military conflict.
Hegseth "has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to civilians, the lawful conduct of United States military operations, the integrity and credibility of the United States Armed Forces, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office," Massie wrote in the resolution, which he read aloud on the House floor.
Massie will leave Congress at the end of his term in January after his Trump-backed primary opponent Ed Gallrein defeated him.
USA TODAY’S Miles J. Herszenhorn contributed to this report.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump gives Hegseth an A-plus amid impeachment efforts
