Hegseth Defends Operations as House Weighs Impeachment Step

Pete Hegseth defended his military operations and dismissed an impeachment effort led by Rep. Thomas Massie as political at a Pentagon press conference on November 10, as the House prepared for an initial procedural vote on the measure.

Hegseth said he stood behind the operations, including those related to Iran, and described Massie’s effort as a political spectacle rather than oversight or accountability. Massie, a Republican from Kentucky who lost his primary earlier this year, had introduced articles of impeachment concerning the Iran war and other military actions.

Hegseth said the operations were lawful and ordered by President Donald Trump, the commander in chief. He cited actions involving Iran, cartels, Nicolás Maduro and Yemen, saying they had been carried out by U.S. forces. Those statements were Hegseth’s defense of the operations; the accounts of the press conference do not establish an independent legal finding on their legality.

The House vote expected later that day was described as an initial procedural step that could allow formal impeachment articles to advance. The reports do not give its result. Hegseth said the Pentagon’s legislative liaison team was working...