Pete Hegseth to hold news briefing as he faces possible impeachment – US politics live

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Defense secretary Pete Hegseth is set to hold a rare news conference later today as he pushes back against congressional efforts to remove him from office for alleged misconduct.

Under pressure after President Donald Trump and Vice-president JD Vance blamed the Iran war for the Republican party’s sweeping losses in midterm elections, Hegseth now faces impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives.

“There’s a lot of politically motivated people who… may have substantial policy disagreements but their disagreements are with success,” Hegseth told reporters on Monday when asked about efforts to remove him.

“I couldn’t be more proud of what our president has done, the decisions that he’s made, the courageous calls that he’s made, the bold nature of our… military leadership, the skill and courage of the troops on the ground,” he said.

The impeachment efforts are being spearheaded by representative Thomas Massie, an anti-Trump Republican lawmaker who is leaving office after losing a primary contest to a candidate backed by the president, AFP reported.

Several of the articles of impeachment – which Massie introduced on Monday – relate to the Iran war, accusing Hegseth of violating the War Powers Resolution, which requires congressional consultation on and oversight of US military interventions.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Massie accused Hegseth of using “our troops to go seize oil for large corporations in America” and derided the Trump administration’s refusal to acknowledge the bombing of a school in Iran.

“I mean, obviously we hit it, and you can determine what kind of missiles from the range and the kind of destruction there was. I don’t think they’re going to get out of that article of impeachment by saying, ‘oh, we don’t know who bombed that school’ – although I think the president tried that for a day or two,” Massie said.

It comes as the president said that the war in Iran is “effectively over” as he played down concerns that the US would escalate its military campaign against Tehran after the midterm elections.

During a White House press conference, Trump said that Israel and Gulf allies in the region were well protected from Iran and that an escalation was not needed.

In other developments:

• Donald Trump was joined by Dana White, the CEO of UFC, at a press conference. At the conference, Trump defended Hegseth, saying his defense secretary “won two wars”, and called Massie “a stone cold loser” and “sick”.

• After saying that his deportation policy was “too tough” and offering to strike an immigration deal with Democrats in an interview on 60 Minutes broadcast on Sunday, Donald Trump on Monday said his administration’s deportation policy was “very strong.” “Somebody suggested, will there be amnesty? No, but— they came in. They knew the law,” Trump told reporters during a press conference today. He added that he had not spoken with incoming chief of staff Stephen Miller about any changes.

• In its first major move since last week’s elections, the Senate has advanced bipartisan legislation to speed up permitting reviews for data centers and other infrastructure projects. The Senate voted 73-25 to formally take up the bill, which would shorten the timeline for approving both clean and fossil fuel energy projects.

• A Utah judge scheduled the trial of the man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk for June 2028. District Judge Tony Graf allocated 105 days for the trial. Graf said the 2028 date balances the defense’s right to prepare with the Kirk family’s desire for a speedy resolution.

• The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to resume border wall construction in the Big Bend region of Texas. The majority paused a lower court’s decision as the case plays out. The Trump administration had filed an emergency appeal, saying there are illegal border crossings and drug seizures in the region.

• After initially saying he would accept the results of the midterm elections, Trump has begun to cast doubt Democrats’ electoral wins. “Does anybody really believe that this ‘Election’ was honest,” he wrote on Truth Social. Democratic senator Chuck Schumer responded to Trump’s statement, saying that the president’s “return to election denialism was inevitable”.