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'It's not going to work': Hegseth defies impeachment push as Massie readies House vote
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed on Thursday that the Pentagon "will not back down," casting a growing campaign to remove him after Democrats' midterm sweep as a political attack. Rep. Thomas Massie plans to force a House impeachment vote as early as next week.
Ally Daily Editorial DeskUpdated:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth struck a defiant tone on Thursday as pressure to remove him mounted in Washington after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress. In a video recorded outside the Pentagon, which the Trump administration now calls the Department of War, Hegseth cast the growing criticism of his leadership as a political campaign and said he would not step aside.
In this clip, Hegseth addresses his critics directly. "They attack me. It's not going to work. We will not back down," he says.
Massie plans to force a vote
The video came a day after Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, said he would press ahead with his impeachment effort unless Hegseth leaves office. "There is one contingency in which I won't reintroduce the articles of impeachment: Hegseth resigns," Massie wrote on X on Wednesday. In September, he introduced eight articles accusing Hegseth of, among other things, waging war against Iran without congressional authorization. A vote stalled when House Speaker Mike Johnson adjourned the chamber early ahead of the midterms.
Massie, who lost his May primary after clashing with President Donald Trump, has less than 60 days left in his term. He has said he expects every Democrat to back the resolution and believes a handful of Republicans may join them in the lame-duck session. "Will all the Democrats vote for it? I think the answer to that is yes," he said, according to Roll Call. Even if the House impeaches Hegseth, removing him would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate.
Here, Hegseth ties his fate to the president's. "Impeachment didn't work with President Trump. It won't work with me," he says. Trump was impeached twice by the House during his first term and acquitted both times by the Senate.
Iran war at the center
Hegseth has overseen the U.S. military through the war with Iran that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28. The conflict, now in its ninth month, has killed 11 U.S. service members in combat and 12 in non-hostile incidents, and more than 850 troops have been wounded, according to Defense Department figures reported by Stars and Stripes. Voters surveyed this week often cited the war and the resulting rise in gas and grocery prices as key reasons for backing Democrats.
Democrats, who are set to hold at least 250 House seats and 54 Senate seats in January, have threatened to block $70 billion in emergency defense funding and the annual defense spending bill as long as the war continues. Outgoing Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who voted to confirm Hegseth but has since become one of his sharpest critics, told CBS News that the secretary faces a "reckoning." Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, has previously said he favors impeaching both Hegseth and Trump over the war.
Trump stands by him, for now
The White House has publicly backed the defense secretary. "I have every intention to keep him," Trump told ABC News on Thursday, adding: "I get these calls, you know, about him. I don't understand why." CNN reported that the president has privately urged Hegseth to fight back against the impeachment push and investigations into his decisions, even as some Republicans have reportedly urged Trump to find a new Pentagon chief.
The Pentagon echoed Hegseth's message. "Secretary Hegseth will not back down or be deterred by politicians seeking to score partisan points or launch phony investigations where no wrongdoing exists," chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told Military.com. "Secretary Hegseth is 100% committed to leading the department until the end of President Trump's term in office."
In this part of the video, Hegseth frames his stance as loyalty to Trump. "President Trump's War Department has never been afraid to lead the way. Just like the president, we don't back down, and that especially applies now," he says. Elsewhere in the message, he said "patriots are now in control" of the Pentagon and accused Democrats and what he called "deep-state radicals" of opposing his team for ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs, which he described as "a Marxist ideology built to destroy us."
A $350 billion request and a vow to keep fighting
Hegseth also used the message to press Congress for money. "The Department of War must be funded to meet the moment right now," he said. "That includes a generational investment, a reconciliation bill of at least $350 billion." The figure is part of the administration's push for a $1.5 trillion defense budget for fiscal 2027, with $350 billion of it to come through a reconciliation package that could clear the Senate with Republican votes alone. Hegseth told an Army conference in Washington last month that the Pentagon would pursue that bill "regardless of what happens in the midterms," Defense Daily reported.
He offered no apology for the conflict that has defined his tenure. "The Iran war is a courageous and historic effort," Hegseth said. He also defended the military campaign against drug cartels, which since September 2025 has included lethal strikes on boats the administration says were smuggling drugs. "Narcoterrorists should die," he said.
Hegseth closed with a pledge to press on. "We have only just begun to fight. We are more determined than ever, more resolute than ever to finish what we have started. We will stand. We will fight. And we will defend this Republic from all enemies, foreign and domestic," he said.
Congress is set to reconvene next week, when Massie could seek a vote on the impeachment articles. The new Democratic majorities will be sworn in in January.
Videos: U.S. Department of War via Clash Report / X. Photo: U.S. Department of War / Wikimedia Commons
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