Hegseth denounces impeachment charges in rare press briefing

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly defended his record Tuesday in the face of an impending impeachment vote, throwing off any remaining pretense that he views the defense secretary job as a nonpartisan role subject to congressional oversight. 

Hegseth spoke from the Pentagon briefing room for the first time since May, as the House of Representatives prepares for a vote on articles of impeachment against him that were reintroduced on Monday by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.

“It's what happens when you put people with ideological agendas in charge of institutions,” he said of a possible trial by the Senate next year, without a hint of irony, nearly two years into a tenure that has seen him subvert the senior officer promotion process, attempt to remove honorably serving transgender troops, and promote a particular type of Christianity in the ranks—all based on his ideology.

Hegseth called Massie’s impeachment campaign an attempt to “do damage to this president, this country, and most irresponsibly, the warriors who defend it.”

“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,” he said. “Condemned not for defeat, but for military victory. The disgruntled congressman even admitted this himself yesterday. No failure here, just impeachment for success.”

Among the eight articles of impeachment are allegations that Hegseth illegally carried on the war in Iran, extrajudicially executed suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean, and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro—three operations he defends as lawful despite widespread criticism from legal experts.

Hegseth referred to President Trump’s two impeachments during his first term, repeating the president’s line about a “perfect call"—the 2019 phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in which Trump threatened to withhold aid to Ukraine unless the government investigated Joe Biden and his son.

"I'll stand by him," Trump told reporters Monday. "He won two wars. He was in charge. We all won."

It is unclear to which wars the president was referring. Hegseth’s boat-strike campaign has reportedly been ineffective in slowing drug flows. The U.S. and Iran continue to fight for control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Hegseth said that at least some congressional Republicans would decline to vote to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate.

“There's also an understanding that this is one disgruntled guy who drew up some really flimsy articles that aren't grounded and actually in the Constitution, or things that are high crimes and misdemeanors, and so whether they love everything that's been done, they they don't want to vote for something that isn't real,” he said. 

The secretary also addressed the possibility that commanders who ordered strikes on suspected drug boats, in particular, could be investigated for carrying out unlawful orders.

“Put the secretary on trial today, and the men and women who carried out those orders tomorrow,” he said. “If they want to come for the warriors, they're going to have to come through me.”

They may not have to. Articles of impeachment don’t expire, and an impeachment proceeding does not have to be completed during one term of Congress. That means the incoming Democratic majority could pick up the ball and run with it when the next Congress is seated in the new year.