PENTAGON chief Pete Hegseth on Thursday vowed to fight efforts in Congress to impeach him, defending the Iran war as “courageous and historic” after voters punished Republicans over the conflict in this week’s midterm elections.
The defence secretary’s remarks came as taunts from his opponents in Congress intensified and President Donald Trump brushed aside questions about whether he might fire the defence secretary, Reuters reported. In fact, Trump praised Hegseth.
Earlier, the top Democrat in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, asked: “Why is Pete Hegseth still around?”
A former Fox News host, the defence secretary has been a polarising figure who has made enemies even within his own Republican party.
White House denies Pentagon chief, Secretary of State Rubio ‘preparing to leave’
Critics in Congress are targeting his conduct of the Iran war, which Vice President JD Vance has said cost Republicans control of Congress, his firing of top military officers and strained relations with lawmakers as the administration seeks a $1.5 trillion defence spending package.
Democrats, who won control of Congress in Tuesday’s elections, have promised to investigate Hegseth and his handling of the Pentagon.
One outgoing congressional Republican has threatened to force an impeachment vote against the Pentagon chief as early as next week.
In his video statement, Mr Hegseth defended his record, denouncing the impeachment effort.
“You see, they attack me. They attack us because we are effective,” he said. “It’s not going to work. We will not back down.”
White House denial
Meanwhile, the White House has denied rumours that Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio might leave their jobs in a post-election shake-up of the Trump administration, according to BBC News.
Likewise, the US State Department has also shut down reports that Rubio might be leaving after this week’s midterm losses, calling it “fake news”.
Rubio has also denied reports that he is considering leaving his post ahead of a 2028 presidential run.
Working for Trump until the end of his term has “always been my plan”, Rubio told The New York Times in an interview.
Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2026
