Trump backs Hegseth as Republican lawmaker moves to impeach defence secretary

President Donald Trump defended Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as Republican Representative Thomas Massie introduced an impeachment resolution over the Iran war, extrajudicial killings, and military strikes. Trump said Hegseth "won the war" and called Massie a "stone cold loser." Massie's resolution, filed Monday, accuses Hegseth of waging war without congressional authorization, committing extrajudicial killings via strikes on alleged drug boats, ignoring civilian casualty laws including a strike on an Iranian school, and unlawfully kidnapping Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro. A House vote could occur Wednesday, though the Senate remains Republican-controlled until January. Massie, retiring at year's end, previously filed similar articles thwarted by Speaker Mike Johnson, who called the effort a "cheap trick." Hegseth plans a Tuesday Pentagon briefing to rebut charges, while Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries signaled a "hard yes" for impeachment in the next Congress.