Washington [US], November 11 (ANI): United States Vice President JD Vance has mounted a fierce defence of US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, dismissing impeachment proceedings against the Pentagon chief as an "absurd" and "ridiculous show" driven by political resentment over military reforms rather than any constitutional wrongdoing.
Pushing back against the effort to unseat the Secretary of War, Vance asserted that lawmakers were using impeachment as an easy substitute for actual policymaking, arguing that the backlash against Hegseth stems from his decision to challenge entrenched Pentagon bureaucracy and shift military focus away from Europe and Ukraine.
"Has Pete Hegseth committed impeachable crimes? The question is absurd and the answer is: obviously not. Like so much of Congress, impeachment has become a ridiculous show that stands in for actual policymaking. Congress has so many tools for registering its policy disagreements. Rather than use them, they're going to try to impeach Pete Hegseth. They did the same to Donald Trump. Legislation is hard. Impeachments are easy (and ultimately, inconsequential)," Vance wrote on social media platform X.
Maintaining that the dispute is ideological rather than criminal, the Vice President added, "The irony is that legislators are most angry at Pete on the issues where he's most correct: repositioning forces away from Europe/Ukraine and reorganizing the general officer corps. This isn't about Iran, this is about the fact that Pete took on the bureaucracy at the Pentagon."
This comes after Republican Representative Thomas Massie intensified his bid to unseat Hegseth by detailing the legal foundation of his impeachment resolution under Article III, accusing Hegseth of directly violating the War Powers framework by prosecuting military actions without legislative approval.
"IMPEACHMENT, Article III. The law requires our military to withdraw from hostilities within 60 days if Congress does not authorize the activity. Operation Epic Fury has been underway for 256 days. Congress has not authorized it. Hegseth is breaking the law. Not even debatable," Massie posted on X.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson has also rebuked the impeachment manoeuvre, warning that targeting the Pentagon chief during active hostilities compromises American credibility abroad.
"The impeachment effort is a political gambit for attention. I think @SecWar did an extraordinary job. The idea that you would impeach the Secretary of War at a time of international conflict sends a terrible message to our enemies and our allies, and we're not going to play that game. It's shameful," Johnson told reporters.
Earlier in the day, Hegseth dismissed the impeachment push against him, comparing it to the two unsuccessful impeachment proceedings faced by President Donald Trump during his first term and expressing confidence that this attempt would meet the same fate.
Addressing a press briefing at the Pentagon, Hegseth defended his execution of the Trump administration's military directives, declaring: "We've seen this show before. They impeached President Trump over a perfect phone call. They impeached him again in his final week in office. Both times they failed... Now they're trying a third time—this time against a member of his cabinet."
Asserting that he was proud to execute the Commander-in-Chief's orders, Hegseth added, "They will fail again. And if standing with President Trump puts me in that company, I'll take that company every day of the week."
Backing the Pentagon chief following his remarks, President Trump awarded Hegseth an "A" PLUS PLUS PLUS on Truth Social, while launching a blistering counter-attack against Republican Representative Thomas Massie, who introduced the measure.
"Pete Hegseth gets an 'A' PLUS PLUS PLUS for his defense against a disgruntled, angry, defeated, former Congressman, Thomas Massie, a TOTAL LOSER!" Trump posted.
Massie has moved a privileged resolution containing eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth, alleging that the War Secretary violated the US Constitution and the War Powers Act by prosecuting unauthorised military strikes against Iran and Yemen, as well as the operation leading to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The House of Representatives is expected to take up an initial procedural vote to decide whether the resolution proceeds to a full floor debate or is referred to a committee. Hegseth has maintained that all military actions were lawful and executed strictly under the authority of the Commander-in-Chief. (ANI)
"Absurd and ridiculous show": Vance defends Pete Hegseth against impeachment
