House vote expected on Hegseth impeachment as he calls effort a farce

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday denounced a House impeachment effort led by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie as a "farce" and "political spectacle," with a vote expected later in the day. Hegseth dismissed the articles as partisan policy disagreements rather than high crimes or misdemeanors. Massie said the House will likely hold a procedural vote to table the measure Tuesday evening before any direct vote on the impeachment articles. The resolution accuses Hegseth of abusing his office by launching the Iran war without congressional approval, ignoring civilian casualty laws, and retaliating against Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said he is a "hard yes" on impeachment, while Speaker Mike Johnson called the effort "shameful" and expects it to fail. Hegseth compared the effort to President Trump's two impeachments, which ended in Senate acquittals, and said he has "a ton of support" on Capitol Hill. The push follows Republican midterm defeats blamed on the Iran war, and removing Hegseth would require Senate conviction, a heavy lift needing more than a dozen Republican votes.