Hegseth hits back at the briefing

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth used his first Pentagon press briefing in six months to dismiss the impeachment drive against him as a farce that would fail, describing it as a 'political spectacle' mounted by an outgoing congressional opponent of President Donald Trump, whom he called a 'rogue lawmaker' pursuing him over policy disagreements rather than any high crimes or offenses.

He told reporters that across a quarter-millennium of American history, no defence or war secretary had ever been impeached for directing lawful military action, and he called the effort sabotage.

The appearance was his first at the podium since May, even as the US military continued intermittent operations against Iran and fatal strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in Latin America.

What Massie's resolution alleges

Representative Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, filed the impeachment resolution in the House on Monday, having lost his primary earlier to a Trump-backed opponent.

The resolution's reported scope reaches beyond a single conflict:

• •Its main focus is Hegseth's conduct in the war against Iran.
• •It also references his role in military actions in Yemen against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
• •It additionally references military actions in Venezuela.

Massie said Hegseth's actions amount to 'high crimes and misdemeanors' and that his leadership at the Pentagon 'warrants impeachment'.

Trump's backing and Pentagon loyalty

President Trump has stood behind his Pentagon chief. He pointed reporters to the January raid that captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and to military operations against Iran that he asserts have 'obliterated' the country's navy and air force. On Monday he told reporters the Iran war 'militarily is effectively over' and repeated his claim that Iran 'would love to make a deal'.

Hegseth, for his part, had already made his case on social media. Last week he released a video arguing impeachment would be about 'the politics of personal destruction' and 'won't work with me'; afterwards, scores of Pentagon political appointees posted images of him emblazoned with the words 'Stand. Fight. Defend the Republic.'

Pentagon top spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement that despite threats of 'sham witch hunts from Democrats', Hegseth is 100% committed to leading the Department until the end of Trump's term in office.

Where the war and the vote stand

A House vote could come by midweek, but the next steps remain highly uncertain. The impeachment move followed sweeping Republican losses in midterm elections last week, which many people partly blamed on the Iran conflict and its economic impact.

The conflict is now more than eight months old, and it has not ended on terms the administration alone controls:

• •Iran has kept striking US military bases in the Middle East.
• •It has disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, driving up global oil prices.

Hegseth also defended his record on the military's leadership at the Tuesday briefing, saying 20 percent of US generals and admirals had been cut.

The day before, after a speech at the Naval War College in Rhode Island, he welcomed a fight over his record. "There's a lot of politically motivated people who may have substantial policy disagreements, but their disagreements are with success," Hegseth said, adding he was happy to litigate the administration's military actions 'all day long'.

A House vote may arrive by midweek, but beyond it the path is unclear; Parnell says Hegseth intends to lead the department through the end of Trump's term.