US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has dismissed renewed calls for his impeachment as “political theatre”, but criticism of his handling of the Iran war predates the Republican Party’s November 3 midterm losses.
Hegseth’s video message, on November 5, came after Republican Congressman Thomas Massie threatened to reintroduce articles of impeachment against him. During an April 29 House Armed Services Committee hearing, Democratic lawmakers questioned the administration’s military objectives in Iran, the cost of the campaign and the Pentagon ‘s assessment of its progress. The Pentagon’s acting comptroller estimated the war had cost approximately $25 billion at the time.
“Didn’t work against President Trump, and it won’t work with me. His remarks came after Vice President JD Vance blamed the Iran war for the Republicans’ election setback, saying: “The reason we lost is the war. The Washington Post reported on the contentious exchanges.
For months, the Pentagon chief has faced bipartisan questions over the military campaign, its rising costs and the administration’s strategy for ending the conflict. Reports have also indicated that Hegseth pushed for the war while others in Trump’s cabinet like Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio leaned towards negotiations with Iran. Representative John Garamendi accused Hegseth of misleading the public, while Representative Seth Moulton questioned the financial burden on American taxpayers.
Hegseth, who President Donald Trump has continued to back after the midterms loss, said that political attacks would not force him out. You can rest assured of that,” Hegseth said. He went on to defend Iran operation as a “courageous and historic effort” to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Hegseth’s difficulties began well before the midterms.
A CNN report on March 31 described Hegseth as one of the administration ‘s strongest public advocates of the campaign, although it did not establish that he initiated Trump’s decision to launch it.
