WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth fought back on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, at his first Pentagon news conference since May, dismissing the impeachment effort against him as "not patriotism. This is sabotage," a "farce" and "a political spectacle" by a "disgruntled and defeated congressman."
The roughly 25-minute briefing came a day after Rep. Thomas Massie filed eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth on November 9. Massie said: "We're not indicting him for being bad at his job... he's broken laws and violated the Constitution." House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries endorsed the effort on Sunday, and the House is planning a vote on whether to move forward with impeachment later on November 10 and this week.
President Donald Trump backed Hegseth on Truth Social, giving him an "A PLUS, PLUS, PLUS" and calling Massie a "TOTAL LOSER." In a November 9 post, Trump wrote: "Pete Hegseth should be praised, not impeached."
Hegseth also defended the Iran war, Operation Epic Fury, saying more than 13,000 targets were struck and much of Iran's nuclear industrial capacity was destroyed — in Trump's words, he "kicked their teeth in." He also defended Operation Southern Spear, the drug-boat strikes in the Caribbean, saying more than 70 vessels were destroyed, 218 alleged traffickers were killed, and maritime smuggling was down at least 65% — Hegseth's claims.
Sources: USA Today, November 10, 2026; Military.com, November 10, 2026; The Sun, November 10, 2026; IB Times SG, November 10, 2026.
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