Washington [US], November 10 : Republican representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky has introduced articles of impeachment against US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth on the House floor, CNN reported on Sunday (local time).
Under legislative rules, the House of Representatives will have to take up a vote on the impeachment measure by Wednesday, according to the report.
Introducing the articles on the floor, Massie, an outgoing lawmaker and persistent critic of Trump, alleged that Hegseth had abused the power of his office through military actions taken during the conflict with Iran.
Massie claimed that the Defence Secretary had "knowingly executed and implemented unlawful orders to initiate war against a foreign nation," CNN reported.
“Secretary of Defence Peter Hegseth, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with his duties and the rule of law,” CNN quoted Massie as saying during the introduction of the resolution.
However, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio came out in strong support of Hegseth, asserting that he has "done a great job," CNN reported.
Speaking to reporters in Paris, where he is attending the G7 Foreign Ministers' meeting, Rubio pushed back against criticism directed at Hegseth from lawmakers and the media.
“I work with him, so I see perhaps a side of him that the media doesn’t see and members of Congress may not see,” CNN quoted Rubio as saying in defence of the Defence Secretary.
Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump also pushed back against mounting congressional calls to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, questioning why an official instrumental to the military campaign against Iran should face removal from office.
Defending the administration’s armed intervention, the American leader asserted that United States strikes had successfully dismantled Iranian nuclear infrastructure while blocking Tehran from acquiring atomic capabilities.
“We saved Israel and the Middle East. There would be no Israel even if we had not saved them from Iran,” Trump said. Rejecting the impeachment initiative, he added, “And what are we going to do with one of the guys that was most responsible for the war, we want to impeach him.”
The presidential defence followed statements from House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries endorsing moves to impeach Hegseth, whom critics accused of abusing administrative authority, compromising national security and coordinating the conflict with Iran.
In an interview with ABC News, Jeffries confirmed his backing for an impeachment resolution drafted by Republican Representative Thomas Massie.
“I’m a hard yes on the Hegseth resolution,” Jeffries stated, noting that House Democrats intended to review the measure upon returning to Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
“The so-called secretary of defence has abused his power, undermined our national security and engineered this reckless and costly war of choice in Iran, which has skyrocketed prices on the American people and made the country less safe. Pete Hegseth has got to go,” Jeffries remarked.
Furthermore, the Democratic leader indicated that his party would pursue initiatives to conclude the ongoing conflict if Democrats secured control of the congressional majority in January, characterising the military engagement as an expensive venture that burdened ordinary citizens with higher living costs.
In response to the legislative pressure, Hegseth dismissed the impeachment campaign as politically motivated.
“It’s all about the politics of personal destruction. Didn’t work against President Trump, and it won’t work with me. You can rest assured of that,” he said.
Representative Massie originally tabled the impeachment resolution against Hegseth in September, though congressional leadership subsequently shelved a scheduled floor vote, postponing consideration until the conclusion of the November midterm elections.