Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held his first press briefing in 189 days on Tuesday morning, a day after Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced eight articles of impeachment against the Pentagon chief.
House lawmakers are expected to vote on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. EST on whether they will remove the Defense secretary, who has been in the spotlight.
Massie's impeachment articles accuse Hegseth of abusing his powers, including the Iran war, the killings of alleged drug smugglers in international waters and the U.S.'s capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
"Make no mistake about what is happening. This is not about me. Politicians in Washington have accused the sailors and the pilots who struck narco terrorist boats of war crimes for doing their job," Hegseth said at Tuesday's press conference.
"Senators in cute videos have suggested the same. This resolution is the next step. Put the secretary on trial today, and the men and women who carried out those orders tomorrow," he continued.
Deflecting Vance's remarks: Following Republicans' sweeping losses in last week's midterm elections, Vice President Vance blamed the results on the Iran war. In response, Hegseth said he was "not going to exchange any finger pointing" with the vice president and that he "greatly" respected Vance.
"Thankfully, politics is not really my thing. I do the Department of War and making sure we’re prepared and ready. So a lot of people are going to look at the conflict and assess it," Hegseth said on Tuesday morning.
So what if it's unpopular!: "It was done for the right reasons to ensure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon," Hegseth said, defending the war with Iran.
"As [Secretary of State] Marco Rubio said, I think quite well, it’s not necessarily popular, but it may have been necessary, and that’s certainly how I feel. It was a necessary undertaking," he continued.
President Trump took to Truth Social on Tuesday following the Pentagon chief's press briefing, saying "Hegseth gets an 'A' PLUS, PLUS, PLUS for his defense against a disgruntled, angry, defeated, former Congressman, Thomas Massie, a TOTAL LOSER!"
💬 Follow today’s live blog
Is an impeachment possible?: Until January, the GOP holds possession of the House and Senate.
But with Vance's criticism of the Iran war being at the forefront of everyone's minds following the party's defeat in last week's midterms, there could be attendance issues, and it's not clear all Republicans will fall in line.
Several GOP lawmakers including Reps. French Hill (Ark.) and James Comer (Ky.) have voiced their concerns over the conflict in Iran and the administration's handling of the situation.
“There’s a lot of questions about Hegseth,” Comer told NewsNation on Friday. “We have no idea what the strategy is moving forward in Iran.”
Key GOP no votes: Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb,), who has been critical over Hegseth and the Iran war, said he will most likely vote no on the impeachment because he says he doesn't align with it.
"Mr. Massie, who's anti-Iran, anti-Ukraine, anti-Israel. I mean, I don't really align with the impeachment itself," Bacon told reporters on Tuesday.
"I have separate complaints about the Secretary that's not in the impeachment," he continued.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told reporters that he is "unclear why this is being taken up so quickly in the House.”
"I thought he [Hegseth] made a very, very good presentation," Wicker added.
🔎 Read Ellen Mitchell's full recap on Hegseth's press briefing here.
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