Pete Hegseth has hit back at efforts to impeach him, describing the move as a “sham”, a “political stunt” and “sabotage”. At his first press conference at the Pentagon in six months, the US defence secretary mounted a full defence of the Trump administration’s military operations, particularly the war with Iran, while the president himself said he would stand by him if impeachment proceedings moved forward.

The effort was launched by Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, who filed eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth.

“Let’s get straight to the point,” Hegseth said as he opened the briefing for journalists at the Pentagon. Referring to Massie, he argued that the Republican congressman’s initiative was not an effort to ensure accountability, but was driven by “ego and bitterness”.

“It is a sham and a stunt,” he said, insisting that he had carried out “lawful military operations” which, he argued, had been successful.

Massie filed the articles of impeachment on Monday, concerning, among other things, the handling of the war with Iran and military operations in Yemen and Venezuela.

“Policy disagreements, not crimes”

Hegseth argued that no previous US defence secretary had faced impeachment proceedings for carrying out lawful military operations.

He cited previous US military interventions under different administrations, referring to Ronald Reagan in Lebanon, Bill Clinton in Kosovo, Barack Obama in Iraq and Syria, and Joe Biden, also in Iraq and Syria.

According to Hegseth, the historical precedent is clear, regardless of the recurring disputes over a president’s authority to conduct military operations without prior approval from Congress.

The US defence secretary argued that the proceedings against him were based on “policy disagreements”, rather than misconduct, treason or bribery — offences which, he said, the founders of the United States had in mind when they established the impeachment process.

“This is not patriotism, it is sabotage”

Hegseth linked the effort to impeach him with the two impeachment proceedings Donald Trump faced during his first term as president.

“We have seen this show before,” he said, referring to Trump’s first impeachment in 2019 and the second proceedings that followed.

According to Hegseth, Trump’s political opponents failed on both occasions and the president “came back stronger” — something he predicted would happen again now.

He also argued that the proceedings against him were sending the wrong message to America’s adversaries.

He said they showed Iran, the cartels and every adversary watching that the United States was willing to punish its military and political leadership for successfully carrying out lawful operations.

“This is not patriotism. It is sabotage,” he stressed.

He defends the war with Iran

A large part of Hegseth’s remarks was devoted to defending Trump’s military decisions in Iran.

The secretary described Operation Epic Fury, the joint US-Israeli military operation against Iran, as a “historic military victory”. Referring to strikes against the Iranian navy, air force and nuclear facilities, he claimed that Tehran’s military capabilities now lay “in ruins”.

At the same time, he rejected the view that the United States had started the war.

“Iran started it 47 years ago,” he said.

Hegseth argued that Donald Trump had made the “difficult but right decision” for the security of the United States, using particularly forceful language to describe the outcome of the US operations.

The impeachment effort being pursued by Massie focuses on allegations of abuse of power and illegal military actions, while Hegseth and the administration reject the accusations and insist that the operations were lawful.

He also attacks the media

Hegseth also turned his fire on the media, accusing news organisations of being unable to acknowledge US military successes because, he claimed, they “hate the president more than they love the country and its troops”.

He then referred to operations against the cartels, arguing that US forces had dramatically reduced routes used for human and drug trafficking. In Hegseth’s view, “thousands of American lives” are saved every time a drug-trafficking vessel is destroyed or a shipment is prevented from reaching the United States.

On Maduro: “A victory in 48 minutes”

The US defence secretary also defended the operation in Venezuela and the capture of former president Nicolás Maduro.

He rejected the description of the operation as a kidnapping, saying that Maduro “was not kidnapped” but was brought before justice by “America’s best”.

“It was a victory overnight — a victory in 48 minutes, to be precise,” he said.

“It would be a propaganda victory for our adversaries”

Returning to the impeachment effort, Hegseth described the relevant resolutions as a waste of Congress’s time and argued that such proceedings would hand America’s adversaries a “propaganda victory”.

He assured reporters that the administration would continue to carry out the mission for which, he said, Americans elected Trump: protecting the country and defeating its enemies.

Addressing US military personnel, he described them as “the best of the nation” and stressed that he would continue to support them. At the same time, he urged them to ignore the political noise, not to hesitate and to remain focused on their mission.

He avoids a clash with Vance

During the press conference, Hegseth avoided clashing with Vice-President JD Vance over Vance’s assessment that the war with Iran had been a key reason for the Republicans’ heavy defeat in the midterm elections.

Asked whether he agreed with Vance, Hegseth said that he respected him and would not engage in a “blame game”.

“Fortunately, politics is not really my area. I deal with the Department of War and making sure that we are prepared and ready,” he said.

Vance had said a few days earlier that “the reason we lost is the war”, directly linking the Republicans’ electoral defeat to the conflict with Iran.

Hegseth noted that many people would now examine the course of the conflict and try to draw conclusions from it, adding that the administration would “learn all these lessons” and apply them in the future.

However, he made clear that he was not distancing himself from the decision to go to war. As he put it, he agreed with Donald Trump that if the administration faced the same choice again, it would act in the same way.

“It was done for the right reasons, to ensure that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon,” he stressed.

Trump stands by him

Donald Trump has made clear that, at least publicly, he continues to support the defence secretary.

Asked whether he would stand by Hegseth if he were impeached, the US president answered in the affirmative and launched a personal attack on Thomas Massie, calling him “an absolute loser”.