Hegseth to Hold Rare News Conference As He Fights Impeachment Bid
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie filed articles accusing the Pentagon chief of bypassing Congress over the Iran war, even as President Donald Trump pledged to stand by Hegseth.
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U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to hold a rare news conference on Tuesday as he pushes back against a Republican lawmaker’s bid to remove him from office over his handling of the Iran war and other military operations.
Rep. Thomas Massie introduced articles of impeachment in the House on Monday.
The filing came after President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance blamed the Iran war for the Republican Party’s heavy midterm losses.
Massie is leaving Congress after losing his primary to a Trump-backed challenger.
Hegseth told reporters on Monday that the effort was politically motivated and defended Trump’s decisions on the war.
He had previously called Massie’s articles of impeachment a sham and likened the bid to past efforts to impeach Trump.
Trump defended Hegseth on Monday, crediting him with victories in Venezuela and Iran.
The January raid in Venezuela captured Nicolas Maduro, while the eight-month conflict with Iran remains unresolved.
Asked whether he would support Hegseth if the House impeached him, Trump replied, “Yeah, I'll stand by him.”
Massie’s Allegations
Several articles center on the Iran war. They accuse Hegseth of violating the War Powers Resolution, which requires the administration to consult Congress on U.S. military interventions and provides for congressional oversight.
Massie also accused the administration of refusing to acknowledge that U.S. forces bombed a school in Iran.
He told reporters that the range of the weapons and the damage at the site could help identify the missiles used.
He also accused Hegseth of using U.S. troops to seize oil for American corporations.
The filing also alleges that Hegseth launched the 2025 operation against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis without congressional approval or an imminent threat to the United States.
Massie described strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific as “extrajudicial killings” and accused Hegseth of curbing independent legal review at the Pentagon.
Another article accuses Hegseth of retaliating against Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly over a video in which Kelly and other lawmakers urged military and intelligence personnel to refuse illegal orders.
The article alleges that Hegseth used his office to try to intimidate Kelly over those remarks.
Ahmet Koçak
Ahmet Koçak is a news editor at Clash Report based in Istanbul. He previously served as Deputy Managing Editor at Türkiye Today, helping launch the digital news platform in 2023, and spent three years as Senior Editor at Daily Sabah. His work focuses on breaking news, geopolitics, international affairs, and digital journalism.
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